Persona 3: A Trinity of Power
by SaintsBoss17
Summary: So, there's this guy, and another guy, and a girl who all happen to get along well and then, um... You know what, summaries suck and are misleading. I suggest that one should take the seven to ten minutes to read this so you can form your own opinions and so the summary doesn't lie to you. This story roughly follows the story of Persona 3, just with a lot more trouble in-between.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is one of the stories I had up before and I thought, "eh, I can do better." Though not completely personally satisfied with this chapter and all, it seems to be a step up from what I usually would post so that's a plus. As of now, I have some pairings in mind and this is under the T setting for now though may be changed to M later on depending on what's added. I'll do my best to not slack off with updates and to keep you, the readers, entertained. If you don't like something or think something could be bettered, PM me or review and I'll accommodate you (within reason). Without further ado, enjoy the story.**

* * *

 _April 6, 2009_

 _Time never waits._

 _It delivers all equally to the same end._

 _You, who wish to safeguard the future,_

 _However limited it may be..._

 _You will be given one year;_

 _Go forth without falter,_

 _With your heart as your guide..._

A young man walked through the town flanked by another young man and a woman on his right and left, respectively. Port Island Station: a man-made island that they'd be staying on from that time forward. They all stepped onto the train and stood together for the ride through town. The young man checked his watch. It read 11:57.

" _Great. . ."_ the young man thought, _"Just as I thought, there would be no way to get to the dorms on time before this accursed hour began."_

Just as he thought, they arrived at Iwatodai Station, and exactly as they stepped off the train the hour hidden between one day and the next began. A greenish light fog enveloped the area and the young man's phone went off, as well as all the lights around them. The people that were present only moments ago, seemed to be turned into coffins and puddles of what seemed to be blood appeared on the ground, adding more eeriness to the scene. He looked up and, as he expected, there was the moon, enveloped in an eerie yellow glow. It wasn't quite full yet, though.

The young man was unfazed, but his two companions were another story. They gravitated towards each other as they walked, seeking protection from each other, a sign that something in their past seemed to be continuously haunting them. The young man decided to change his composure, if only slightly, for the benefit of his partners. He made sure to walk slower, allowing his two companions to get closer, walking more like a pack than just a group of friends. In time, they reached the dorm building and walked in. Looking around they saw nothing of interest, including coffins that weren't littering the main lobby. There wasn't even a single coffin on the floor.

"I knew it was late but there was bound to be one or two people still down here in the lobby. . ." the young man said as he entered the dorm. Looking back in front of him he found that a very familiar looking, prison clothed kid that made themselves present from seemingly nowhere.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you- oh! It's you guys again. I guess I should've expected this," the kid said as his eyes laid on the visitors.

"Well, if you're here, that means that nothing good can be going on around here. I figured this shit hour would be like it was at our last home but you being here has confirmed an important theory."

"And what's that?" the young boy asks in curiosity.

"That it's not going to be a normal stay here. Hell, it'll be anything but."

"I suppose you know this from our last meeting but I'll repeat it again to be clear. No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes."

"For your information kid, only those two do that," the young man said whilst pointing to his accomplices, both of which still had their headphones on, knowing that no music was currently playing.

"Ah yes, an unfortunate outcome seeing as you're still standing here. However, I guarantee that it won't happen again. Welcome to a new story," the kid said, taking a few steps back, "And so it begins."

The kid disappeared not a moment later and they were left standing there again, alone.

"Who's there?"

The young man and his friends all turned their heads towards the stairs. Standing there was a young girl, around their age. She looked terrified, as if she had just seen a ghost, or in this case, something worse. Her hand trembled as she reached for the gun holstered on her hip, causing the young man to take a defensive position in front of his companions. Though he held a face of boredom, he effectively put himself between the girl and his friends. Inches away from her own gun now, the young man decided to make a split-second decision.

He lashed out, causing the girl to put her arms up in defense instead of going for her gun.

"Aah!"

Before he could get her though he had to jump left, avoiding a right hook by a mere few inches. Standing between him now was a silver haired guy, student from his uniform, and he looked to be itching for a fight. He also noticed the slight grin on his face.

"Nothing is ever simple, is it?" The young man grumbled under his breath.

"Is that really all you've got? And here I thought this would be a bit more fun," the silver haired teen responded.

The young man simply stood back up, seemingly relaxing himself. The boxing student took this as a sign that he knew he was outclassed and had given up. As the silverette lunged forward, fully intending to end the fight, the glare in the young man's eyes showed that he had another idea in mind.

The silverette ran up and closed the gap between them quickly, smiling as he knew he already had this one in the bag. He threw two punches, surprised when the young man caught them as if they were nothing and began to crush his hands. Groaning in pain and with nothing to help him escape, he couldn't defend himself as his opponent simply raised his arms before drilling his foot into his gut, rocketing him across the floor and slightly denting the wall.

"Are we done here?" he asked, once again with a bored expression on his face.

"Eat this!" a kid around their age yelled as he ran up on the man, sword in hand. As he reached the newcomer he swung his sword with as much power as he could muster before it jerked to a stop. Looking at what he had connected with, he noticed that his sword was being easily held in hand by the new guy. The new guy gazed upon his surprised form before lazily yanking the sword out of his hands and stabbing it into the ground. He saw his hand bleeding from the two locations where the sword broke into his skin before clenching his fist.

"Whoa, that's unreal. . ." he said in awe, though he actively made his way towards the silver haired kid and the brunette. They watched him as he cracked his knuckles and slowly walked in their direction. The brunette stood in shock, hand hovering just over the holster of her gun, inwardly arguing about the current circumstances.

"This isn't good. . . if this continues I'll have to. . ."

"Wait!"

Everyone in the room turned to the redhead that just entered the room. As she made her way downstairs, the lights turned back on, signaling the end of the dark hour. As she got closer with every step, her group of crazed sociopaths, at least, that's what the trio thought, followed behind her, albeit cautiously.

As the young man relaxed and stood, the redhead princess approached him, followed by the silver haired teen, the clumsy swordsman and the young girl with the gun.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," the redhead began, "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

The brunette looked like she wanted to say something but stopped. Instead, she opted for something else to say.

"Who are they exactly?"

"They're transfer students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here, seeing as there were no empty spots in any of the other dorms. For the time being, they'll be hold up here, most likely a temporary fix," the redhead student answered, every word rolling off her tongue with a strict elegance.

"But is it okay for him to be here? He kind of. . ." the brunette girl asked.

"Don't worry about it. I only fight when I've been attacked, no matter how stupid the assailant," the teen quipped, relaxing in his feeling of laziness again.

"What'd you say?" the silver haired teen said. It was obvious that the silverette was still upset that his pride had seemed to be so easily shattered by this newcomer.

"I was giving him everything and he tossed me aside as if it was nothing. . ."

"Akihiko," the redhead, Mitsuru, said, "You have to remember that they have a reason to be on edge right now. You DID show hostile intention when they entered the dorm."

The young man, known as Akihiko now, stood down, though his blood was still boiling.

"Now that that's settled, I suppose we should all introduce ourselves. Once again, I'm Mitsuru Kirijo."

She stuck her hand out for a handshake with the young man. He took it and, in a state of grandeur, turned her hand over and kissed the back of her hand, responding with, "What an honor heiress of the Kirijo group. Minoru Arisato at your service."

This caused Mitsuru and the brunette to blush, and Akihiko to smack his teeth along with Junpei, but Minoru could care less about those guys' reaction. Mitsuru took another look at Minoru, realizing he was tall and had black hair that reached to the back of his neck, and half of his hair covered his right side of his face. The only visible eye was his light blue one. She also noted he was wearing all black, a trench coat that was all black played its part in his look as well.

"Akihiko Sanada," he said, bringing everyone back to the real reason they were playing introductions.

"Minato Arisato," the younger looking boy said next to Minoru. Mitsuru and her brunette friend noted that he and Minoru looked similar, though he held blue hair instead of black, his hair didn't obscure half his face, and his eyes were silver.

"Yukari Takeba. I'm a second year."

"Kotone Arisato," the girls noticed she looked very different from her companions. She had orange-looking hair and red eyes. She didn't look related to the other two, but the question still stood and could be answered later. Considering they just met they knew it not to be their best place to ask. But they figured it would be known to them eventually.

"What makes this dorm so special? You know, other than the fact that it looks more luxurious than I expected," Minoru asked.

"Unlike the other buildings, this one's co-ed. It's not your typical dorm, though. I'll explain it to you later when I get a chance," she answered Minoru. The look on his face, however, held a lot of suspicion.

"What do you mean 'when I get the chance'? Isn't now the perfect time?"

This struck her off guard, she wasn't expecting her word to be questioned, it was a rarity anyone ever did.

"It's just that it's really late and I was just-"

Minoru cut her off and intervened with his own thoughts on her reluctance.

"I see that you're obviously waiting for something of great significance to happen. I'll wait until you find out whatever you need to know. You just have to hold up your end of the deal afterwards."

With that he walked straight past the wall of people that already lived in the dorms and made his way up the stairs, disappearing before he even reached the second floor.

"It's getting late, so you should all get some rest," Mitsuru said in the silence, attempting to take back control of the situation, "Your room, Minato Arisato, is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there. Takeba, please show them to their rooms. I'll see if I can find our standalone."

Mitsuru was the first to leave, looking for the missing new dorm member, followed by Akihiko shortly after. Mitsuru didn't know this, but she left a frightened Yukari that was still a bit jumpy with the more than silent siblings. In theory she should have been able to relax easily. In practice however. . .

She silently led them up to the room at the end of the hall on the second floor.

"This is it. . ." she said, her voice seeming to go and sound pretty natural again, "Pretty easy to remember, huh? . . .Since it's right at the end of the hall. Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it," she said, trying to brighten the mood. Alas, it was to no avail. They didn't so much as snicker let alone laugh at her joke. Though she willed it all to end she remembered she had to be courteous. She took a big sigh, "So, any questions?"

They collectively shook their heads no. Minato and Kotone thanked her for her kindness and showing them their room before they walked in and closed the door behind them.

Yukari just shrugged her shoulders, too tired to argue with the fact that Kotone hadn't allowed her to bring her another floor up to the girl's floor and let her into her own room.

"Oh well, we can get back to this tomorrow," Yukari mumbled to herself slowly walking up to the third floor.

On the third floor though, unbeknownst to Yukari, stood Mitsuru and Minoru. Mitsuru was heavily glaring at him, arms crossed as if she was ready to scold him, while all she got in return was the one lazy eye that everyone could see.

"What are you doing on the girls' floor?" Mitsuru calmly asked, though her voice was laced with ice, "Let alone making yourself at home in one of the rooms?"

Minoru closed his eye as he tilted his head up and held his hand under his chin, a pose that sought for thought. After a moment of slowly causing Mitsuru to become more aggravated, unknown to him, he answer in a completely honest tone.

"Well, I needed a room as close to the roof as possible. This is the room closest to the stairs so this will have to do."

Mitsuru thought about it for a moment, thinking about how tired she currently was, and the odds of finding the energy this late to kick him out of the room. Her attention was brought to the stairs when a flicker of movement caught her eyes.

"Yukari, heading off to bed already?" Mitsuru asked, turning her attention away from a very observant Minoru.

"Yeah, we have to wake up early in order to get to school on time tomorrow."

"I know the situation. Where's Kotone?"

"Oh, right, they both went into the room and immediately fell asleep," Yukari replied somewhat sheepishly.

"Very well," Mitsuru then turned to Minoru again, "That room will be fine, for now. Just don't go getting yourself into trouble."

Minoru lazily eyed her back, "Me get myself into trouble? Nah, it's more trouble than it's worth. . ."

With that said he slowly closed his door, leaving Mitsuru alone in the hallway when Yukari returned to her own room.

" _Who exactly have we invited to stay here?"_ Mitsuru thought to herself as she walked across the hall and entered her own room.

* * *

April 7, 2009

Early Morning

* * *

Minoru and Kotone were talking with each other, already dressed for school. Minoru was just finishing rolling up his makeshift bed on the floor as Kotone made her own bed. Just as they finished, a very audible knock was heard from the door.

"It's Yukari, are you awake?"

"Should we ignore her? Maybe she'll go away?" Minoru offered as Kotone made her way to the door.

"Hello! Please answer the door, or I'll get in trouble!" Yukari pleaded. Kotone looked at Minoru before she opened the door.

"We're not ignoring her. Geez, you're starting to sound like Minoru." Minato looked at her, though it looked like she absent mindedly said those words, "Besides, I feel sorry for her, with what she had to endure last night."

Kotone opened the door to find a panicking Yukari on the other side.

"Good morning Kotone and Minato. Did you sleep okay? Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late, so. . . are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Let's just get moving," Minato said, already pushing past Yukari. She looked slightly offended before looking to Kotone, who just shook her head and proceeded to follow Minato. Yukari just opted to follow them out and keep from starting an argument with Minato while she was at it.

As they left, the third floor of the dorm decided to show signs of life. Mitsuru just finished getting dressed, firmly tying the red ribbon she had onto the neck of her blouse. She looked at the time on the wall, debating just how much time she had to make it to the school. Deciding she had a couple of minutes, she went across the hall to Minoru's current room. She knocked lightly, but noticeably enough to get the attention of someone inside.

"Hm, no answer. Is he even awake? It takes a half hour, twenty minutes minimum to get to that school by rapid. There isn't much time left. . ."

Mitsuru swiftly opened the door, slowly making her way over to the bed. She watched the floor with mild interest on her way over.

" _Discarded clothes? Well, at least they're just his own. But if he becomes like Junpei and completely lets his room go. . ."_ Mitsuru thought, as she slightly shifted at the discomfort of remembering the dump of a room Junpei held. When she reached the bed she had to refrain from face-palming, something completely uncharacteristic of her.

"Still asleep? Really?" she mumbled out loud, though not loud enough to really be heard. She was about to wake him up before he shifted in bed and spoke.

"Oh, Kirijo. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You need to get out of bed immediately, otherwise you'll be late for school."

"Oh don't worry. Five more minutes. Then you leave before me. I don't want to be mobbed by your fan club on day one," Minoru responded sleepily, making himself more comfortable while he was at it.

Mitsuru didn't need excuses as to why someone couldn't simply do as she asked. She just wanted it done. She didn't know what this talk of a 'fan club' for her was, but she knew if she left him he'd never get to school. She wouldn't have that, especially since she could do something about it.

"Enough. Up with you. We need to leave immediately, if not, as soon as possible."

Mitsuru stepped towards the bed and in one swift movement, yanked the blanket off the bed. What she saw was more than she bargained for. Minoru was lying in bed in nothing more than his boxers. She noticed that his muscles were even more refined than Akihiko's. She gawked like as child at a piece of candy they wanted badly, something massively uncharacteristic of her.

"Geez, Kirijo. Must everything be so urgent? I was trying to sleep here," he said sleepily as he sat up. He saw the look on her face and stared at her blankly for a few moments before he got off the bed and walked up to her, her eyes following him the whole way. He turned her around by her shoulders and waited a few seconds before Mitsuru spoke again.

"We'll leave as soon as you're dressed," Mitsuru quietly said as she made her way out the door, refusing to turn since a small blush was being sported by her. When she left, Minoru watched the door for a few more seconds before he shrugged off the situation.

"Heh, never figured that people like her could get so shaken up like that."

With that said, he stood up and quickly got dressed.

"Of course, when we reach the school, I'm going to dislike the stares from her fans. Oh well. . . it can't be helped."

A train ride and a walk later finds Kotone and Minato at the entrance to their new high school. They both looked at Yukari, headphones hanging from their necks.

"Well, this is it. We're here. Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. Hope you like it."

They walked into the school with her, stopping at the shoe lockers to go from street shoes to school shoes.

"You're okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty Office is right there to the left. And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"

They looked at each other before looking back at Yukari, Kotone being the one to voice the question on their mind.

"What happened to Minoru and Mitsuru?"

"Well, if I'm correct, she's being a charismatic student council president and waking up your friend. If he fails to wake up, she may execute him out of principle."

"Execute him?"

"Yes. They won't be much longer now, no matter how it goes."

"Okay. . . One last question. Which class are you in?"

"Me? I dunno... I haven't looked at the classroom assignments yet.

"Guess we'll see you around then," Minato stoically said, causing Yukari to do a double take, ensuring it wasn't Minoru.

"Please don't take up after Minoru, you're better than that," she said to Minato, earning a questioning look from Minato. Feeling she stepped out of place she quickly apologized before waving goodbye to them.

"We can either take the direct approach and take a look at the crowded bulletin board or skip the crap and head to the Faculty Office," Minato said, giving Kotone options.

She looked towards the board again, surrounded by an enormous amount of students they didn't know, before saying, "Office it is."

They made their way to the Office and walked straight in (Minoru's idea), waiting for nothing. Looking around, they contemplated which teacher they should speak to before they were approached by one.

"Oh, are you the new students?" she asked, receiving a nod from both. "But weren't there three of you?"

"Mitsuru senpai is holding him up. She's probably ex-"

Kotone elbowed Minato in the ribs, earning a strained grunt and keeping him from finishing his statement.

"She's explaining how things work in the school, for he's very hard at learning."

"Oh, I see. . . Okay. . . Minato and Kotone Arisato. . . missing student Minoru Arisato. . . all 11th grade, 2nd years, correct? Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places. . . Let's see. . . In 1999. . . That was what, ten years ago? Your parents—Oh! I'm sorry. . . I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand."

"That's fine," Kotone answered, though Minato looked as if he wished to say something else, something more aggressive in nature.

"Right. . . well, I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach Composition. Welcome to our school."

"Nice to meet you!" Kotone answered, though Minato remained silent.

"Wow, such enthusiasm! If only some of our other students shared your enthusiasm. By the way, have you seen the classroom assignments?"

They both shook their head no.

"You're in 2-F; that's my class. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

"As you begin the new school year, I'd like each of you to remember the proverb, 'If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well.' When applied to student life, this means. . ."

Minato and Kotone sat a seat apart, that empty seat belonging to the yet to have arrived Minoru, both of them finding the speech irrelevant and therefore ignoring it completely.

"Psst. . . Hey. . ."

Minato turned to the student behind him, Kotone keeping an ear open to see what they were talking about.

"You came to school with Yukari this morning, right? I saw you three walking together. Hey, I have a question. Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

"I didn't ask, it was none of my goddamn business. And, considering you don't know the answer to that question, it's none of your goddamn business either. Turn to the front and shut the hell up."

"Well damn, what has you so pissed off, it was just a question. . .So, how well do you know her?

"I hear talking. I believe it's someone in Ms. Toriumi's class. . ."

"Shhh! Be quiet! You're going to get me in trouble!" Ms. Toriumi said.

No matter what the other teacher said, they weren't the only ones talking. In fact, half the auditorium was talking.

"I'll talk however much I goddamn please," Minato mumbled under his breath. Kotone, lost for words, just shook her head and willed the assembly to end sooner rather than later.

* * *

After School

* * *

"Can we go home already, I'm getting tired of this school and it's just the first day," Minato said. Minoru stood beside him. He eventually made it to school, though he came after half the day was over, unlike Mitsuru who came on time for the assembly. Whenever asked about the 'execution' though, he'd just shrug it off and say 'she executed her brain' or something of that nature. Minato and Kotone summed it up as the reason why Mitsuru seemed to be in a daze for a portion of the day.

In the same row, Kotone, Minato and Minoru got up and got ready to go.

"S'up, guys? How's it goin'?" said Junpei as he waked over to them. They all collectively ignored him.

"Um, guys. . ." Junpei said, sweat-dropping.

"What do you want?" Minoru said, turning to him, obviously disinterested. Kotone inwardly wished nothing escalated as bad as it had since they got here. Minoru may sound disinterested but she knew he was itching for anything after a boring introductory day at school.

Junpei stuttered a bit before responding with, "Oh, come on. Let me reintroduce myself, at least. We got off on the wrong foot yesterday."

Kotone grabbed Minoru's wrist, causing him to meet a rare glare aimed at him. It was how she told him to play nice and not aggressive. He turned back to Junpei.

"Tch. . . Fine, but make it fast. I'll need to hit something after this," Minoru said, though the last part was barely spoken above a whisper.

"I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid. . . So I wanted to say, "Hey." . . .See how friendly I am!"

Kotone stepped around Minoru, "Pleased to meet you!" she said with the widest smile she could make.

" _Gosh she's hot, she's a total babe!"_ Junpei thought. Then he looked towards Minoru again. _"Damn, either he's her boyfriend or a very protective brother. No way is this fair! This is too ridiculous!"_

"H-hi guys! What's up?" Yukari, the new arrival to the group, said.

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again," Junpei said, welcoming Yukari.

"At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone? And then these three no less."

Minoru and Kotone were having a silent stare down in the background. One wanted to leave and one wanted to stay with potential friends. Talk about a dispute of will.

"What? But, I was just bein' friendly."

"If you say so," Yukari said, turning to Minoru, Kotone and Minato, voice returning to its previous shaky state, probably due to the presence of Minoru, the guy who almost hurt her yesterday. "A-anyway, looks like we're in the same homeroom. . ."

"It must be fate," Minato said sarcastically, earning rolled eyes from Minoru and a punch in the arm from Kotone.

"Fate? Yeah, right," Yukari said giggling to herself at his remark.

" _Guess he isn't too bad. . ."_ she thought.

"Still, I'm a little surprised."

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too? By the way, I heard you came to school along with Minato and Kotone this morning. And that you were hovering very closely around Minato. What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!" Junpei jumped in.

Minato rushed forward, sending a jab into Junpei's face but ending right before it connected. The amount of force behind it was tremendous, sending a wave of force smacking into Junpei's face. He stumbled back a few steps before looking back in amazement.

"Wh-what the hell? What was that?"

Minato quietly spoke, "Don't pair me up with anyone under false pretenses. Do it again, and I won't stop my fist next time."

" _Well sheesh, which one are you going to be, nice or bitter? . . . Dammit, I've got to get out of here,"_ Yukari thought.

"I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team," Yukari said before hastily retreating, er, leaving.

After she left, Junpei looked like he wanted to say something, that is, until Minoru looked at him. Something about his lazily placed gaze bothered him. Maybe it was just his own mind playing tricks on him?

"Hehe, see you later guys. See you Kotone," Junpei quickly said before turning heel and leaving.

"See what you guys do!" Kotone said to the two brash guys behind her.

"S-sorry Kotone," they both said sheepishly. She still looked unforgiving, and turned to leave. They quickly followed her out of the school. No need to piss her off any more than they already did. If that happened, they'd only be seen as collateral damage in her eyes.

They took the train back to Iwatodai station and were heading back to the dorm when they saw something interesting down an alley.

"Hey, come on, it'll be fun. We can show you a good time," one of the guys leered.

"But I don't want to go," the girl quietly argued back.

The three of them saw a group of guys circling around the girl in question, who, oddly enough, had teal blue hair. They looked at each other.

"Whose turn was it again," Minoru said without much interest, though his eyes displayed a completely different emotion.

"Sadly, it's your turn. Don't do anything to piss her off afterwards. I know how you can be," Kotone said.

"Really? I never knew I was that bad. I knew I was bad but THAT bad? Honestly?"

"We'll see you later at the dorm, maybe. Come on Minato."

Minato and Kotone walked away and Minoru cracked his knuckles.

"This is such a pain. . ."

Minoru slowly walked down into the alley, his Gekkoukan jacket unbuttoned showing shadows of his muscles beneath his shirt.

"Hey guys, I think the lady has had enough. Now why don't we all go home already? It'll keep us from doing things we may regret later."

The guys looked at him, the leader saying, "Who is this prick?"

Minoru made a pained mock face, "Prick? Is that what you call people that you don't know?"

The guy gave him a confused look. "We don't know you. That's why I called you a prick. You get dropped on the head or something?"

Minoru let a small smile cross his lips. "Prepare to know me as the guy who outclasses you in every way. Though, I think you'll need more than four to stand for a proper demonstration."

Whether it was his bravado or the fact that he was calling them out, they all rushed him at once.

" _Big mistake,"_ he thought.

As they ran at him, he jumped over them, somersaulting over to the last person and kicking him in the back of the head, causing him to collapse. The other three saw this and decided to run at him one by one. The first guy ran at Minoru, aiming a punch directly at his face. He caught it, twisting his arm so he'd kneel down, yelling in pain. He stepped off his thigh and back-flip kicked him off the ground and into the air, when Minoru landed he jumped again, kicking him back before he hit the ground and sending him at the feet of his friends. They looked at their two unconscious friends and thought about the best course of action against someone with his level of skill. They quickly picked up their friends and started running, parting with, "You better watch your ass 'cause we'll find you. You can count on it."

Minoru turned to the cowering girl, all her school things fallen at her feet. He started picking them up.

"Um, thank you. . ."

Minoru said nothing. He picked up all her things and handed them to her. As he was leaving the alley he turned around briefly to say, "See you around."

" _He was. . . unique. . ."_

* * *

Evening

* * *

Minoru walked in to the dorm, later than he probably should have, and was greeted by an overly nice Mitsuru who was reading a book. She seemed to be waiting for him.

"Welcome back," she said.

"Kirijo, hello, how are you?"

"You're late and you'd better have a damned good reason for it. Explain yourself immediately."

"Oh I was just out helping the rather unfortunate situation a girl was in."

Mitsuru raised her eyebrow, his vague description leaving a little too much to the imagination. "And that was?"

"Bullying. They learned their lesson and she got home safe."

"Well done Arisato."

She looked back into her book, satisfied that he was at least doing something beneficial before getting back late. When she continued to feel his presence however, she looked up again.

"Yes Arisato? Is there something else we need to speak about?"

"Well, I was just wondering. Why'd you freeze up this morning?"

To any with a trained eye, Mitsuru was seen tensing up.

"Great. This again. And I spent all day getting that image out of my mind."

"No reason," was her simple answer.

"Want to talk about it?"

She looked at him for a moment with questioning eyes before her face went back to normal.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"I don't judge."

"There is nothing to judge."

"You're hiding something."

"And you're prodding."

It was a few moments later that Akihiko walked down stairs to speak with Mitsuru before heading out. It was then he noticed how cold the inside of the dorm was. He nervously made his way down to the ground floor before peeking into the room. He saw Mitsuru dusting her hands off with a satisfied look on her face.

"Don't tell me she. . ."

"How long am I going to be in here?"

Both Akihiko and Mitsuru had a look of pure disbelief on their faces, Mitsuru was the most surprised. She had encased Minoru in a giant block of ice to shut him up for the moment. The fact that it didn't work was unheard of. She stared in shock as she saw Minoru easily walking around in her ice block but not leaving it. This, of course, begged a question that had to be answered.

"If you can freely move around in that thing, why don't you just break out?"

"If you must know, it's so you hold some form of personal satisfaction of trapping me."

Mitsuru wasn't sure what to think at this point. "Don't pity me."

Minoru shrugged and simply stood still as the ice melted away as quickly as it had formed.

"Did I anger you?" Minoru said casually as he stood in front of Mitsuru again as if nothing had happened.

"Shut up."

"If it means anything, I apologize for your discomfort."

"Didn't I tell you to shut your mouth?"

"At least my mouth isn't gaped."

"Do we need to talk?"

"I asked for a talk in the first place, you know. . ."

Mitsuru and Minoru passively bicker back and forth. One upset because her execution failed. And the other troubled and concerned over something he didn't have to be troubled over. This continued until Mitsuru couldn't hold her focus on her book any more, not that she could in the first place.

"Very well, let's go talk about this. Follow me."

" _Maybe I'll just leave tomorrow. . ."_ Akihiko said, turning and going back to his room before he was spotted.

* * *

 **A/N (Part 2): And that, my dear readers, is what I came up with in my short period of reflection and modification. Like I said up top, any criticism for my writing style or for the story itself, PM me or put it in the reviews. I'll read them. Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

April 8, 2009

Early Morning

* * *

Minato and Kotone were getting ready for school. Minato looked bored, as usual, as he checked himself in the mirror for any imperfections. Kotone, on the other hand, was fixing her hair, deep in thought.

" _I thought that Minoru would be back in time to at least eat or say goodnight to everybody but no, give an idiot an inch and the make miles upon miles from it…"_ Kotone thought to herself.

Minato and Kotone stepped out of their room and headed down to the lobby, getting ready to head out to school, and leaving once they figured they had everything they'd need.

On the third floor Mitsuru smugly looked at the results of her creation. A frozen door, impassable until the ice melted off or until she willed it off. On the opposite side of the door, in his room, stood Minoru, fully dressed in his school clothes. Blue shoes, black pants, and indigo shirt, and the standard Gekkoukan male jacket. He was staring at the door, deep in thought.

" _She doesn't speak to me last night and instead opted to freeze me in? Huh, never figured she was that anxious. Still, it's morning, the ice hasn't melted, and school starts in an hour. It's a twenty minute train ride, fifteen minutes if I stole her motorcycle, and forty minutes if I'm forced to walk. What a bastard of a situation. This is such a drag…"_

"So, Mitsuru?"

"Yes, what is it Arisato."

He hated how her voice sounded. It was way too smug for his taste. Sure, she won the battle, but now she was acting like she won the war. As if.

"Why haven't you let me out of this room yet?"

An honest question. It deserves a simple answer at least.

"Well, you can get out of there. I saw you yesterday."

"You also froze my door again," he answered to which he earned silence for a few moments. Of course said silence was only elegantly broken.

"Tough luck I guess? I don't know. You obviously have the potential."

"And I'm about to use said potential to make your life a living hell," Minoru stated, the threat heavily lingering in the air. He waited for the ice to shatter from the door before he opened it and walked out to Mitsuru, who now had her back turned to him.

"Geez, now you're upset? I think I have that right after being a prisoner of the dorm for the last seven hours. As for making your life a living hell, I'm too lazy to actually do it, unless provoked. Besides, don't you have an image to keep up by getting you and all your dorm mates to school on time?"

Mitsuru turned to Minoru wide-eyed, realization hitting her.

"Oh no, I have a meeting this morning but I can't leave you here or you'll go back to sleep," he shook his head at her obvious attachment to him, "So there is no other choice. Grab your bag, we're taking my motorcycle."

Minoru looked at her questioningly before she literally began dragging him down the stairs.

" _Well, it may be a painful, bumpy ride but at least I don't have to walk…"_

* * *

In the meantime, Minato and Kotone arrived at the school. As they approached, girls and guys alike met them both.

"Minato-kun! Welcome back to school!" One of the girls said as he came back.

Minato seemingly ignored them and walked straight past them. He entered the school building, followed closely by the boyfriend-less pack of girls, leaving Kotone surrounded by guys.

"You idiot! Get back here! Don't leave me with them!" Kotone yelled after Minato, though he was already gone, a long way out of sight.

Oblivious to the fact that they were not wanted there, Kotone's fan club circled her, seeking acceptance from her.

"Hey Kotone, I love the way you did your hair!"

"Your cherry red eyes are so great on you!"

"Gosh, you're hot! Want to go on a date with me sometime?"

"Girl, with a body like that, we can hang out at my house anytime."

Circled completely now and basically drowning in people Kotone just struggled to get her own personal space back.

"Minato! Minoru! Where are you when I need you?!"

She felt herself literally drowning in the guys around her. She reached her hand out, trying to clutch at the last view of air she had. Then she felt someone grab her wrist, raising her out of the circle of guys and into an open space again.

"You okay Kotone?"

She recognized that voice! She looked up and spotted Minoru standing in front of her. She peeked past him and saw the guys that just surrounded her looking terrified at the newcomer. She guessed it was because of his natural ability to intimidate people.

"What are you hopeless romantics looking at? Can't you see we're busy talking here?!"

With hesitation they slowly cleared away from them, opting for the safer option of going into school. Kotone finally stood up and walked around to see Minoru's face. Noticing her again, he looked down into her angry, tear-stained face.

"You idiot, the least you could've done is be here earlier!"

He rugged the back of his neck, looking over her to avoid looking at her face again.

"Well, I did get here didn't I?"

She looked as if she would say something else, but then another thought over took her.

"Well I know you didn't take the train and you surely didn't walk so how did you get here so fast?"

"Mitsuru dragged me here on her motorcycle. It's been a lot of trouble to ignore some of the guys' stares of jealousy ever since she started dragging me around like her butler."

"It can be that bad…" Kotone started before she saw Minoru shake his head before using his thumb to point behind him. Kotone looked around him to see a mass of bodies collectively glaring into the back of his head. If she didn't know any better she'd think their stares were heavy enough for heat vision. She then turned back to Minoru.

"Maybe we should go into school already. They'd have to disband so they could head to class."

Minoru nodded and they both entered the school, a glaring mob right behind them. Besides, Kotone needed to find Minato, who left her behind like she was not even in his thoughts.

* * *

Afternoon

* * *

Kotone looked in front of her, towards her two partners to be exact. She looked at Minoru, who looked completely uninterested in the class at hand. In fact, at that moment his head was in his hand and he was looking out the window at the clouds. Minato on the other hand looked just as she did, bored. He had his head in his hand and, from her angle, seemed to be struggling to stay awake. Junpei and Yukari were both hanging in there as well.

Her phone vibrated, signaling that she got a text message. When Ms. Toriumi had her back to the class she discreetly checked the message.

From: Mitsuru Kirijo

 **To: Kotone, Minato and Minoru**

 **Though I won't be back in time to introduce you, there is someone very important that you have to meet at the dorm. They'll be waiting for you when you get back this evening.**

I looked around and saw Minato looking down as well, undoubtedly looking at his phone. I peeked at Minoru but his head was still in the clouds. A couple minutes later and an incorrect answer that made Junpei look like a dunce and we were out of school. Minato was already set to go, ignoring the pressing urges from his newly acquired fan club. Kotone noticed that the group that circled her earlier kept their distance, probably still afraid of Minoru. She also noticed a few girls staring Minoru down from the hallway. Instantly she felt a bit protective but she decided not to let her face convey such feelings.

She shook Minoru, waking him up. He had effectively fallen asleep during his cloud watching endeavors.

"Yeah? What's up? Is it lunchtime already?"

Kotone dead-panned at his remark.

"Dude. . . are you serious? We had lunch hours ago. . ."

Minoru looked as if he was in deep thought for a moment, something Kotone found cute, though she wouldn't ever say it. Then a new look encompassed Minoru's face, as if he made a new revelation.

"Kotone, let's go to the Wild Duck Burger, my treat."

Kotone blushed before shaking her head. They were supposed to be "siblings," why was he asking her out? Then a new thought crossed her mind.

"What about Minato?"

"What about him?"

Kotone extended her arm backwards, "You didn't ask if he wanted to go."

"He's already gone, you know."

Kotone looked back then did a double take. Now, for the second time today, Minato had spontaneously disappeared from sight.

" _Why is he doing this to me? He never used to just up and leave. . ."_

"Fine Minoru, let's go."

He smiled tiredly, and they proceeded to walk out of school, though Kotone bumped into someone on their way out.

"Ah!"

"Sorry!"

Kotone and Minoru looked down to see a girl with teal colored hair. She looked up and saw the worried face of Kotone looking back at her. Then she saw Minoru.

"Oh! I remember you. You're that guy that helped me out the other day."

"Ah, yeah," Minoru said, scratching the back of his neck. He was obviously uncomfortable with the situation. Kotone on the other hand was intrigued. Who was this new girl? And what was her relation to Minoru exactly?

"So, um, who are you exactly? And how do you know Minoru?"

"Oh, that's your name. I was wondering what it was. You left me without telling me. Anyway, how I know Minoru here is because he helped me last night when he scared away some guys from me."

"Oh," Kotone said, "By the way my name is Kotone Arisato. But, in regards to last night, what did he do? Stare them down? Say a few unkind words to them?"

"He did more than that," the girl said, "He beat up two of them, without taking a hit or breaking a sweat, before he was able to scare them off."

Minoru shrugged it off, as if it was no big deal, though to the usually quiet girl it seemed like the most amazing thing she'd ever seen. Most likely because it wasn't common that she was helped out when it came to being bullied. Then Minoru got another look on his face, showing that he'd had yet another moment of inspiration.

"Hey, um. . . I never got your name," Minoru asked the girl, ignoring the daggers from Kotone all the while.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Fuuka, Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Okay then, Fuuka. How about you join Kotone and I? We're heading to the Wild Duck Burger for a pre-dinner snack."

"Uhm, I don't know. . ." Fuuka hesitated, and within reason. After all, she just met these two. Though, if you consider the way Minoru had been acting the past two days with today, he seemed to be radiating a completely different aura. And a friendly one at that.

"Come on, and if you need someone to walk you home afterwards, I'll gladly volunteer," Minoru said, pushing for her to go.

"Well, if you don't mind. . ." Fuuka trailed off and Minoru smiled.

"Excellent. Come on, before it gets too late," he said, leading the way out the school, oblivious to the looks he was receiving from both girls. One was bashful and the other hostile. Perhaps Minoru wasn't the type to take hints easily. It was either that or he was ignoring them completely.

* * *

On the other side of town. . .

* * *

Minato was walking back towards the Iwatodai dorm, lost in his own thoughts. He had long since lost his group of stalkers, and was enjoying the serenity he had earned when someone stepped in front of him. He stopped, pausing his music, before taking off his headphones and looking up. What met his eyes was a group of kids.

"Well, well, well. . . look at you. Isn't it a little late for you to be alone out here?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If you didn't step in my way I'd have already been home. Now if you'll excuse me," Minato said as he attempted to step around the group. Instead, an arm barred him and pushed him back. Minato, in spite of all this, held his poker face and remained unfazed… on the surface anyway…

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home, and you'd be damn stupid if you think just simply getting in my way is going to stop me."

"Well aren't you full of yourself you little shit?!"

Minato crossed his arms, getting slightly aggravated at this.

"Seriously, do you guys get off on picking on people as a group? That's pretty pathetic."

"Keep talking and we'll treat you like we did that girl yesterday."

"Oh her?" Minato smirked, "I saw her at my school earlier today, perfectly fine. And the guy who beat up two of you? He's a good friend of mine."

They flinched at the mention of yesterday's events. Then a smile crossed their face.

"No one is here to save you kid," they said, full of themselves.

"Who said I'd need help to take care of a couple of worthless shit-bags like yourselves."

Put up with his attitude, they all rushed him at once. A smirk crossed his face as he readied himself for their assault. As they got closer he jumped back a little before launching a side kick directly at the first person, his initial leg swing carrying him through the amateur group with his one kick, knocking them all down.

They got up and opted to attack him individually, and were sort of thrown off when they saw him relax. Utterly frustrated now, the apparent leader ran at him, throwing a fist, aimed directly at his face. He sidestepped the leader, putting out his foot to trip him. Using that momentum, he hooked his foot with his own and spun his around, bringing his foot down on his stomach as his back collided with the ground. All the while, his hands were still in his pockets.

The others looked at him, a sense of a familiar fear growing into them.

"Hey, look at the way he moves! He fights just like that guy we met yesterday!"

Minato looked at them again, still with his foot planted on their leader.

"I did tell you, did I not? I know the guy who kicked your asses yesterday. Though, since you guys are still standing, he saw you guys as a joke as well."

He kicked the guy roughly enough so that he went sliding across the ground, stopping at the feet of his gang.

"Now I'd suggest you get out of here before I make you look even worse than him," Minato said, holding his music player and searching for a new song.

The guys picked up their friend and ran away, leaving Minato on the street, alone yet again.

"Figures. . ." Minato said as he reached for his headphones, "No challenge, no fun."

Before he could put his headphones on, though, he heard someone call his voice.

"Minato! Wait up!"

Kotone hugged Minato, basically tackling him, though Minato refused to let himself fall. Holding his ground long enough to let Kotone get their reunion out of her system, he was finally able to breathe once again when she unhanded him. Then he saw Minoru walk up as well. He figured that they'd walk home together, but he didn't realize they'd be so late. What were they doing?

"I think it's time to head back. Mitsuru said we needed to see someone?" Minoru said, earning a nod from the other two and heading towards their dorm together.

* * *

Evening

* * *

The three partners walked in, stumbling into a conversation between Yukari and some older guy. They all looked on in interest, not really seeing what the man's relevance to their situation was.

"Oh, they're back," Yukari said, apparently not realizing that they had stepped in.

"So, these are our new guests. . ." the man said with interest, sizing up each of the three. When his eyes lingered a bit longer than they should have on Kotone, Minoru and Minato appropriately stepped in front of her, shielding her from the man's eyes. They both stared at him menacingly, forcing him to explain himself.

"Oh, hehe. . . I didn't mean to offend you! I was just sizing up the newest additions to the dorm is all."

"Well, next time don't 'size-up' anyone unless you're willing to pay the price."

Yukari noticed that the tension in the air was growing rapidly and, trying to maintain the peace before a murder was committed that she wouldn't be able to stop, interrupted the hostile stare down Minato and Minoru were giving the chairman.

"Let's calm down here. . ." Yukari began, immediately earning all eyes in the room on her, "Perhaps you started on the wrong foot. Why don't you let him introduce himself?"

The hostile juniors relaxed a bit, both mirroring each other as they crossed their arms and waited for him to begin.

"Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school."

"Ikutsuki huh?" Minato quietly mumbled to himself, testing the name and seeing how well it would roll off his lips. Minoru said nothing, opting to just stare at the Chairman silently and observe how he operates. They all knew they'd talk about it later.

"'Ikutsuki'. . . Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes. . . Please, have a seat."

The three of them remained standing while Yukari and the Chairman sat back down.

"O-Okay then. . ." the Chairman said, starting to feel a little anxious from the current situation.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

Minato was the first to speak up.

"Yeah, I have a question. Why the hell are you here? Last I checked, this was a student dorm, and you aren't exactly a student."

The Chairman quite audibly swallowed before answering, "To welcome you, of course. Well, to be honest, I do have other business here."

"Such as?" Minato questioned again to which Ikutsuki waved his hands.

"That's not relevant at the moment," he laughed off nervously before he turned to Yukari, "Speaking of which... where's Mitsuru, Yukari?"

"She's upstairs."

"At work again, as always. Although, it doesn't hurt to come down and say hello. . ."

"She's upstairs? Good, because we need to talk."

Minoru excused himself by walking away from the group and up the stairs, waiting for no one's say so. Everyone watched him leave and after he was up the stairs and out of sight, Ikutsuki turned to Minato to continue the conversation.

" _What the? What is this?"_ Ikutsuki thought as he looked at Minato. _"He's carrying the same vibe that they both had as if he never left."_

"Any more-"

"No," Minato said, quickly cutting off Ikutsuki. He blinked in surprise, amazed that a kid could be so rude without giving it a second thought. He shook his head quickly as he offered a few last words.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me. . ."

The Chairman quickly got up and hurried out the room, seeing no need to say anything more to someone who didn't wish to listen. As the atmosphere returned to normal, Yukari looked questioningly at where the Chairman stepped out of the room.

"Huh. . . no lame jokes. . ."

The ground floor was quiet when Ikutsuki left, and everyone was back to acting like normal. Following Ikutsuki's travels up to the fourth floor meeting room however, and we see Minoru and Mitsuru glaring evilly into each other's eyes, foreheads clashing and hostile sparks colliding. Ikutsuki knew that whatever he just walked into wouldn't be good.

"Tell me what I want to know and we can all end this peacefully you stupid girl!"

"Before I tell you anything you are going to start treating me as you should any other senpai, and that is with respect!"

"Respect is earned not given! You know how much ice I've seen in the last few days alone?"

"You're the one who came to me!"

Ikutsuki leaned against the wall, shaking his head all the while. All he had to do was wait for the fighting to calm down between Mitsuru and Minoru. Then he could do what he really came here for.

Hours later, Minoru finally gave up and left the room, realizing getting anything out of Mitsuru was scarce and in-between nowadays. After he left, Yukari arrived and joined Mitsuru at the computer console. Two distinct screens were on, one for Minoru and one for the other Arisato siblings. The chairman was standing behind them watching the screen as well.

"How are they doing? Any changes?" he asked as he stood there.

Mitsuru and Yukari both stood up and faced him to give their report. And by 'their' it's meant that the student council president gave the report while Yukari acted as reassurance.

"They went to bed a little while ago, except Minoru. He seems to be staring directly at the camera. It's a little unnerving that he knows it's even there."

"Do you think that maybe he sleeps with his eyes open?"

"He's been blinking since he started so it's safe to assume that he's awake."

"I also want you two to look at these really quickly," the Chairman stated as he handed the girls two vanilla folders. They opened the folders and after a moment of reading, looked up at the chairman questioningly.

"I don't get it. It's just the Minato and Kotone in one folder and Minoru in the other."

"True, but did you look at the information regarding their travels from orphanage to orphanage?"

They read it again and their eyes opened in realization.

"Minato and Kotone have always been together, even from day on. Minoru on the other hand seems to have been alone until they all grouped up. And get this, he originally didn't show a last name. When he met them it immediately became Arisato," Yukari stated.

"Which means either their sibling separated by their accident or someone's lying…" Mitsuru said as she looked into the screen that Minoru was heavily staring back into.

* * *

Dark Hour

* * *

"They're all still in their regular forms?"

"Yes. An ordinary person transmogrifies when the dark hour hits, oblivious to all that occurs. These three, however, seem to be experiencing the dark hour. The only question that remains is whether or not they have the potential."

"I think that Minoru guy does," Yukari said, "He threatened to use a persona the first night he arrived. The other two, Minato and Kotone, they are still in question. Though he could've been lying, that wouldn't explain how he knew about persona's in the first place."

"I guess we'll just have to monitor them for a few more days then."

"And Mr. Chairman, it seems that Minoru is finally falling asleep."

"Excellent. Now I may leave in one piece as opposed to many."

Minoru found himself entering a familiar mysterious door, which opens to reveal a huge room covered in blue. The back wall is chain-link, and it's shown that the room seems to be moving upward like an elevator, and has a large clock whose hands are continuously spinning out of time. The Arisato siblings are grouped around a chair, and across the table from them are a plain-looking woman in a full blue attire and an old man with a long nose. The old man speaks first.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"Ah, it's you three again."

"Hello Igor and Elizabeth! It's so nice to meet you again," Kotone said happily. Minato looked on at them, still suspicious of their motives though they've helped them many times in the past. Minoru kept his back turned to the two, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. His body language seemed to loudly state he wanted nothing to do with them right now.

"Ah, Master Minoru, it's a pleasure to see you again. Though it seems that something's bothering you."

Minoru opened his mouth as he quietly told his younger companions what was on his mind, still ignoring Igor and Elizabeth's presence.

"They're spying on us. During the dark hour and the time before and after it."

"Maybe they're just trying to make sure nothing happens to us is all," Kotone attempted to reason with Minoru.

"Possibly, still. . . I don't like it," Minato said. It seemed both he and Minoru wanted nothing to do with the Velvet Room or its inhabitants.

"We're leaving," Minoru stated as he and Minato headed towards the door that led them there.

Kotone turned with an apologetic face and smiled sheepishly before following them out. However, one last thing was said to Minoru before he left out.

"Master Minoru. You will have to rely on your persona again you know," Elizabeth called out to him. He momentarily stopped, letting what she said sink in before he replied.

"It didn't help me when I needed it most. What makes you think it'll help now?"

With that he left, followed by his two companions. As they left, two more members of the Velvet Room emerged.

"He was never like this before. . ." the newly emerged blonde said.

"I agree," the other male said.

"And it's quite painful to see him like this," the blonde added. And at this time, they awaited for their guests next visit. Until then, they had nothing more to say.

* * *

April 9, 2009

Early Morning

* * *

Everyone headed out to school in scattered times. Akihiko left first to fill in his early training regimen, followed by Yukari who woke up early and had nothing to do. The younger Arisato's left out around the same time, followed by Mitsuru and Minoru, Mitsuru staying behind so that Minoru would get to school on time.

She eyed him as they left for school, unsure what to make of him. He listened to everything she said for the past few days for the most part. Hell, he even carried her bag, and that was just supposed to be a trigger to set him though it did nothing of the sort.

At this same time, the younger Arisato's finally reached the school gate. They also bumped into Junpei there.

"What's up!? Man, today is the perfect day! The sky is blue... We're young... What more could we ask for!?"

Kotone was the first to reply, saying, "Junpei you seem full of energy today."

"Of course!" he said as he chuckled to himself.

Minato, of course, replied to Junpei's statement with his own touch of personality.

"Funny, I think you need rest."

"Dude, I'm not sick! Forget the ol' Junpei...! This is the REAL me! You should cheer up, too. After all, you've got ME as a friend."

"That's the problem. . ." Minato grumbled to himself as they all entered the building.

The school day passed like it usually did, what with Minoru and Minato sleeping or inattentive through the whole day of lectures. After school, they headed straight home, not feeling up to anything, alongside Kotone.

* * *

Dark Hour

* * *

Mitsuru, Yukari and the Chairman all watched the monitor again, observing the sleeping forms of the three newcomers to their dorm.

"How are they?" Ikutsuki asked upon his arrival.

"The same as last night, albeit Minoru is actually asleep this time. I had Yukari check myself."

"And I almost died of fright. . ." Yukari added as they continued observing them.

"It's odd. They haven't exhibited any forms of the symptoms in others who experience the dark hour. This is worth investigating."

"But. . . we're treating them like guinea pigs."

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard they are all your classmates. . . Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with someone from the same grade Yukari?"

"Yeah, I guess. But, still. . ."

An audible beep erupts from the control panel. Mitsuru pressed a button to receive the message.

"Is that you, Akihiko?"

"Yes and do I have news for you! You're not gonna believe this. . .! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk. . . It's chasing me. . . I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there."

"Does that mean. . . he's bringing that thing here!?" Yukari said, slightly panicked.

"Possibly," Mitsuru said. "Takeba, grab your weapon, we have to go help Akihiko."

Mitsuru and Yukari arrive at the front door to find Akihiko slumped down, clutching his arm with a grimace on his face.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru yells in worry as she approaches.

"I'm alright. Get ready to be surprised. . . It'll be here any second."

"This is no time to joke around! What type of shadow are we dealing with?" Mitsuru asks.

"It sure isn't an ordinary one." Akihiko said.

The ground shakes violently, causing the SEES members to lose their balance for a moment.

"Ahh! What the. . .!? You've gotta be kidding me!" Yukari yelled, slowly losing her cool. Mitsuru on the other hand grabs her evoker and prepares for the fight ahead.

"Takeba, go upstairs and wake them up! Then, escape out the back."

"But, what about you two?"

"We'll stop it here. You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

"Like I had a choice! What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"

"I-I'm going!"

Kotone and Minato prepare to leave their room to go take a look at what all the commotion is about but instead hear panicked knocking at their door instead.

"Wake up! Sorry, I'm coming in!"

Yukari enters abruptly, almost knocking the door of its hinges.

"I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!"

"Okay."

The ground viciously shakes again, making only Yukari stumble as the Arisato's seemed used to it. She didn't notice that though.

"Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!"

When they reach the back door Yukari speaks again.

"Alright, we should be safe now—"

"Takeba, do you read me!?"

"Y-Yes! I hear you!"

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!"

"What!?"

Banging can be heard on the back door, threatening to break it down.

"L-Let's pull back!"

Everyone quickly moves up the stairs, every sound seeming to set Yukari into a new form of panic and hysteria. As they reach the third floor they meet Minoru cutting through a few dark blobs with crystal formed swords. Yukari quickly yanked him in their direction and proceeded up the stairs.

They reach the fifth floor and the door that leads to the roof.

"O-Oh yeah! If we go out through here-!"

Yukari leads them out, locking the door behind them.

"I think we're okay for now. . ."

The ground shakes violently once more, and everyone had the feeling something abnormal was about to happen.

A giant, multi-limbed shadow jumps up onto the roof and the four persona users braced themselves. The shadow quickly approached, swinging its blades at them. Minato and Kotone stood in front of a defenseless Yukari, blocking the impending hit with a crystal sword and spear they formed within a split second. On collision, the three of them had been knocked back and into the wall. Sliding down the wall, they slouched in pain, their weapons dematerializing when they fell out of their hands.

" _Damn, we haven't done this in a while,"_ Minato and Kotone thought as they slumped against the wall. The shadow approached again and they braced themselves, awaiting the final blow.

"Not if I can help it!"

Minoru formed a crystalized giant sword and heavily swung it at the shadow. Their weapons clashed, a few knives actually cutting Minoru in his leg, arms and his right cheek before the force in their collision basically threw the shadow back. He rushed at it as it flew and as it crashed into the ground, completely defenseless, and swung his sword across its form, splitting it cleanly in half. He swung twice more and completely dismembered the shadow.

The shadow lied in pieces now. Minoru walked towards his three downed companions and dematerialized his sword. Unknown to him, the bits of shadows he dispersed aimed to get the jump on him. Minoru, however was much faster. He turned to cut down the airborne shadows, the force in his swing throwing them higher into the air.

"Orpheus!"

Kotone and Minato yelled for their persona, crushing a card and causing a powerful force from within them to emerge and take form. A blue and a red Orpheus emerged and burned the remains of the shadows down, all the while Minoru ran through the blazing fire and cut down the more agile shadows, before the two personas fell back into the psyche of their masters.

"Is it over. . . ?"

Kotone and Minato collapsed from the set in pain and exhaustion while Minoru stood over them.

"Are you okay!? Come on. . . ! Say something!" Yukari said, shaking the shoulders of her collapsed friends and saviors.

* * *

 **A/N: I apologize if that was rushed. Well, you know the deal. You read and get to criticize me by reviewing for everyone to see. It's such a glorious system, is it not?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter Three has arrived. Be sure to enjoy.**

* * *

 **April 17, 2009**

* * *

 **After School**

* * *

Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari stand outside the hospital door as they look in at their two bedridden friends and Minoru. Minoru was standing opposite their beds and looking down, with his eyes closed. Junpei now looked a little guilt ridden, opting to stay at his friends' house the night that said fateful incident occurred.

"How has he been Takeba?" Mitsuru asked quietly.

"Not so good. He hasn't spoken to anyone since that night, or he's spoken in one word answers. He even disappears for hours at a time, and I can never find him in the dorm during the dark hour."

"I've come to notice that as well. He always comes back as the dark hour ends covered in scratches and bruises," Mitsuru said before turning to Akihiko.

"Have you been able to track him like I've asked?"

"No. Every time he comes into sight it seems he disappears as soon as he goes around a corner. I tried tackling him once. Didn't work out, it was like I phased right through him he moved so fast."

"Damn. It seems the longer those two are out, the more distant he becomes. They need to recover soon, or we'll risk losing him."

Yukari glared at Mitsuru for a moment. Was that all she cared about? How useful he could be? She wanted to get away from her for a moment, and there was only one option she could really take.

"I'm going in," Yukari told her senpai before she helped herself enter the room. As she walked in it was quiet, and she found that it seemed unnatural for the three here. However, she was quick to remember that two of the three were out, and the remaining one was grieving in solitude.

As she walked past Minoru she looked at him and found his eyes were following her, similar to how the eyes in paintings do in movies, except it didn't have an eerie feel to it. In fact, she felt his glare was void of feeling. She knew he was like that sometimes, but she never knew that it wasn't just an act. She sat beside the bed and waited with him for Kotone and Minato to wake up. They waited awhile, awaiting any form of progress. Then, seemingly made present to overcome the silence in the room, their eyes opened simultaneously, though weak.

"You're awake. . . ! Um, how do you feel?"

"Where are we," Kotone groggily asked, her eyes slowly scanning the room as if she was looking for someone.

"Why are you here?" Minato asked with his usual bluntness.

"Thank goodness. You finally came to. . . How much sleep do you need!? It's been a whole week! . . . I was so worried about you. . ." Yukari said, filled with happiness that the two of them pulled through, being sure to ignore the blunt attitude that Minato always seemed to have. Minoru watched on silently.

"Oh yeah, to answer your question Kotone, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station. And Minato, glad to see you're still rude. It'd be too much to ask that you'd forget your impulsively rude personality. Anyway, you saved my life, you know, both of you. . . so I couldn't just leave you here to wake up alone. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted. . . But, you kept sleeping and sleeping. Do you know how worried we were? Um. . . I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. . . Even though I was supposed to protect you, I. . . But, your power. . . It was amazing!"

"I'd hope so. We have had this power for a couple of years," Minato said, readjusting his arms so his hands were behind his head and he was relaxing.

"Oh? I wasn't aware. Then again, I guess that's how you guys can summon your persona without evokers. You would've needed to find that out."

"Where is everyone else?" Kotone said, the haziness in her eyes not allowing her to fully see the surroundings of the room.

"Mitsuru, Junpei and Akihiko are outside the room. I can call them in. . ." Yukari offered.

"That'd be nice," Kotone said with a smile, though anyone could see that she was unsatisfied with Yukari's answer.

Tapping her finger to her chin in thought, Yukari added in another bit of information, "Oh yeah. Minoru is in the room as well. Maybe you can get him to talk since he hasn't said a word since that day two weeks ago."

"I see," Kotone said as she laid back down, seemingly relieved. Minato said nothing. Mitsuru, Junpei and Akihiko entered the room at last.

"We're sorry about how things turned out for you two last week. Though we do appreciate what you did for us. If you weren't there, I'm pretty sure none of us would be standing here today, more so Yukari," Mitsuru kindly said. Akihiko and Junpei simply nodding in agreement.

The four of them all set out to leave, giving the three friends their moment for their reunion.

"We'll meet you back at the dorm. Goodbye," Mitsuru spoke for them as they all left.

The three of them were left in silence, not sure how to start the conversation. Minoru looked back and forth between the two. Minato ignored him completely, opting for more sleep while Kotone stared at him. This was truly a rare moment as of late. The three of them haven't been in a room alone for quite a while now.

"What's this I hear about you playing it solo since we were hospitalized?" Kotone asked, fully grasping Minoru's attention.

"It's nothing important, you shouldn't worry about it," Minoru answered, attempting to leave the subject. Kotone wasn't having it though.

"I think it's important. You should tell me," Kotone pressed on.

"It's nothing. After you two were taken out of the equation I just acted on my own, albeit a little recklessly. Nothing too major."

"Explain."

"Going home early, ignoring people and fighting shadows alone until the last possible moment. Like I said, just being reckless is all."

"You should be more careful," Kotone said with a worried expression. Minoru brushed it off.

"It's nothing that I couldn't handle."

"Yeah, well, if you disappear where does that leave us?" Minato finally said, speaking up in the conversation for the first time.

"What do you mean? You've been doing fine on your own the first few days we got here. You two know how to stick together. I've already seen what you're capable of Minato. I don't see the problem since you two have been doing so fine for yourselves, scratch this one incident."

"Have we really? You're continuously involved in our lives. You're always protecting Kotone and you've taught me everything I know."

"Funny. With me as your teacher I didn't expect you to get your ass handed to you by that one shadow."

"You know that's not the case. Defending others causes anyone to be allowed a small window of pain. After all, it's only a flesh wound. Only a scratch."

"So you're telling me to not be reckless, hm?"

"I'm telling you not to let yourself die."

"Fair enough. I'll see you at the dorm after you've been discharged later, maybe."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Minato and Kotone watched Minoru as he left the room, each with their own thoughts on their unique guardians' unique situation.

* * *

When Minoru returned to the dorm, he was met at the door by a certain redhead.

"Is everything alright Arisato?"

"I'm fine," he said, attempting to walk past her. She held out an arm to stop him though. He looked at her.

"What?"

"I have to make sure your reckless state of life is over before I can let you continue any further."

"Why do you care about my reckless impulses? They don't concern you."

"Yes they do. Your actions require my immediate intervention when the potential to harm others is made present."

He looked at her for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh. He looked down, then back up at her face, staring into her eyes.

"Fine. I won't do anything reckless enough to endanger the lives of your dorm mates."

"And that includes you."

"I'm aware."

"Good. In case you haven't noticed, the rest of us aren't as tough as you are, let alone your two partners. I'll ask that you keep that in mind. Now, if you may, please follow me."

"Follow you? Follow you for what?"

"I need your assistance with something," Mitsuru said as they climbed the stairs.

"With what exactly? Can't you have your flunky Akihiko or even Junpei do it for you?"

"Actually no. I need you to help me move something?"

They made their way up to the third floor and stopped in front of Mitsuru's door. Mitsuru turned to an interested Minoru, who looked like he wanted to say something.

"Is there a problem Arisato?"

"Isn't it a rule that I not be allowed in a girl's room in this dorm. You know, the rule that you're currently trying to break."

Mitsuru refused to answer him as she opened the door and led him in to a big bookcase, currently void of any books, and stopped before it.

"I need you to move this for me."

Minoru was inwardly shaking his head at the carpeted area that was her room, filled with luxurious furniture that reflected her personality seemingly perfectly. He also noticed the bookcase was in the center of the wall in a spot where a T.V. could ideally be placed.

"I swear I don't get anything for the hard work I put in around here, I swear it…" Minoru grumbled to himself as he walked over to the bookcase. A few grunts later and he had moved it far enough to the side that it looked like it still belonged there but at the same time it was out of the way for the T.V. that he knew would eventually be placed in the room.

"Happy, your highness?" Minoru asked her. Mitsuru just blankly looked at him for a moment before answering him.

"Actually, yes. However, I am not derived from any line of royalty so the 'your highness' bit is unnecessary. That will be all, you may take your leave…"

Minoru walked out, grumbling to himself about how he wasn't able to get a rise out of the student council president and how she turned the tables on him. He left and went back downstairs at the moment, putting a few floors between him and her for the time being.

Minoru welcomed home Kotone and Minato when they arrived that night. This was also the first night since the shadows' attack that he had not left the dorm during the dark hour and decided to sleep peacefully instead.

* * *

 **April 18, 2009**

* * *

 **Early Morning**

* * *

Kotone and Minato walked down the walkway towards the school. Minoru left with Mitsuru before the two of them decided to walk out. Minato thought nothing of it. Kotone on the other hand. . .

"Is it me, or have Minoru and Mitsuru been getting along recently?"

"It's just you," Minato said, dismissing the thought entirely.

"Really? Before they used to be more distant, now they just seem to talk, or playfully bicker back and forth."

"Maybe," Minato said as they reached the front gate. Kotone shook her head, maybe speaking to Minato about basic observations was what a fool would do. She inwardly cursed her Arcana for that.

"Mornin'. You seem to be doin' pretty well," Yukari said as she approached her friends.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Kotone said kindly, smiling at Yukari while hiding her own personal thoughts away.

"That's good," Yukari said, returning her kind smile.

"I, on the other hand, am not feeling fine. I'm pretty positive I won't make it through the day. . ." Minato said sarcastically. Yukari, however, remained oblivious.

"Wow, even after all that rest. . . Is it difficult to walk?" Yukari asked worriedly. Minato deadpanned and Kotone shook her head.

"What?" Yukari asked.

"That was sarcasm. . ." Minato said, in the middle of his famous face palm.

"Oh, well anyway, Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget."

"Okay, I will forget," Minato said walking into school ahead of the girls.

* * *

 **Evening**

* * *

After a long day of school, Kotone and Minato both arrived back at the dorm. Though Kotone went to swimming practice directly after school, she seemed to still have plenty of energy left over. Minato on the other hand did nothing except wait for Kotone to get done with practice and he looked just about to keel over.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kotone said after Minato, already moving towards the steps.

"I'm going to sleep, see you later."

Kotone quickly walked up to Minato and grabbed his ear. He immediately cringed and bent to her will.

"Get the hell off me," Minato said, though he made no physical effort to move her off his ear.

"Did you forget already? We're supposed to go to the fourth floor and meet with everyone else."

"I'll take a rain check, thanks. Besides, that's three extra sets of floors to be going up. No thanks."

"I think you mean NOW," Kotone said, yanking Minato up the stairs much to his protest.

"Oh! There you are!" Yukari said, giggling a bit at Minato's current state.

"Brunette, you better watch your back," Minato said, though anyone could tell that his threat was half assed. Though, Yukari did look a little frightened, so maybe she didn't quite know.

Everyone entered the room, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei and Ikutsuki already seated in. They noticed Minoru was already seated inside, albeit not of his own accord. It looked as if Mitsuru had her rapier poised at his throat, ending all protests, though it didn't seem he was making any effort to move anyway.

" _Damn, looks like they're both whipped,"_ Yukari said to herself, smirking at the unfortunate state of both guys. She dismissed the idea and took a seat. Kotone and Minato immediately saw two briefcases on the table.

"Ah, yes, now the gang's all here. I'm also glad that you two are okay after the events of the other night. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you, all three of you, about some important things. Please, have a seat."

"From my understanding, everyone in this dorm is already acquainted with one another. Some of us, more than others. . ." Ikutsuki said, lightly implying the two guys who were there against their will yet refused to really do anything about their situation, "Okay, let me start off by asking you this. . . Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

"Common knowledge," Minoru said, highly uninterested in the conversation. Minato and Kotone seemed the same, though they'd never just outright say it, at least not yet.

"Oh, well since you already know all that, we can skip a majority of this conversation. So, to make an otherwise long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor. Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari are members, and we're hoping that you guys will soon be too."

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey. The victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them. That includes the train incident that delayed your arrival here on your first night here. Unfortunately, the police can't do anything during the Dark Hour. . ."

"Once again, common knowledge," Minoru interjected again, earning a sharp elbow from the leader of SEES. A small groan echoed through the room shortly.

"Anyway, although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, it's all up to you guys."

Minoru opened his mouth again, though an icy 'don't say it' was whispered into his ear, stopping him from saying anything.

Mitsuru finally left her seat at the front of the table to walk around to the two briefcases in front of Minato and Kotone. She opened them to reveal a holster, a SEES armband, and a gun.

"What he's trying to say is, we want you to join us. We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."

"I don't mind, I was getting bored anyway," Minato said, leaning back and relaxing as if ready to fall asleep right there and then.

"Does that mean you accept? I was afraid you'd say no. . . I feel much better now," Yukari said to Minato, though Kotone looked to Minoru. She was likely looking for confirmation to join. Though Yukari barely saw it, he slightly nodded. She was curious to learn all about that, but she resigned to just be glad two members joined for now.

"The guns represent that you're a member of SEES, though it seems that you now have two ways to summon your Persona," Mitsuru said as she retook her seat.

"That's fine and all, though why are there only two briefcases? Where's the third? What about Minoru?"

Mitsuru relaxed in her chair a bit before answering.

"Minoru will be my personal aid. He'll be helping me with my work until further notice. As powerful as he may be, he is more valuable to have at my side than traversing the battlefield and keeping you all from gaining the experience that comes from being a persona user."

"Don't worry, I'll break out of this situation soon. She's the easily jealous type who doesn't like to share," Minoru casually said from his relaxed position on the couch, now that he didn't have a rapier breathing down his neck.

"And that is the other reason why he'll be my personal aid. I'm going to try to make him get some sort of personality with him because this 'lax' thing he has going on only holds so much charm…"

The meeting had been dismissed and everyone went their separate ways. Well, everyone except Minoru who was escorted out by the tip of Mitsuru's blade. The next day was bound to be fun for some people, hell for some others.

* * *

 **Dark Hour**

* * *

Any normal guy would want Minoru's room, especially when the one and only Mitsuru promised to tuck you in every night. Yup, he loved the comfortable feeling of multiple swords aimed at his neck, mere inches away. Legs and arms were bound. Perhaps he should've walked out during the dark hour again. Then, when he came back, at least he may have been able to sleep comfortably, and unrestrained.

"Damn. If I so much as sneeze I'll be royally fucked. If she was so scared of me doing anything, she could've just put me under surveillance. . ."

"Hi, how are you?"

Minoru almost jumped at the sound of that kids' voice, nearly ending his life in the process. The kid on the other hand found his predicament highly amusing, chuckling at his misfortune.

"How the hell did your puny ass get in here? And I thought you only showed up when all three of us were present."

"I'm always with all of you, even now. I'm speaking to all of you at once. Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

"The end of what exactly?"

"The end of everything. But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."

"Then keep it to yourself. I don't care, nor do I want to know anything regarding your end of everything. I'll prevent it from happening, and nothing you say will stop me."

The boy simply shrugs his shoulders as he disappears as quickly as he came. Minoru stared at his ceiling, clenching his fists. He wouldn't let the end come so soon, he still had a promise to keep.

April 19, 2009 Evening

Minoru was on the third floor in his room, bored beyond belief. Looking for something to do he exited his room and headed across the hall to Mitsuru's room. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Yes?"

"May I have a word with you?"

"My room is off limits."

"What about what happened yesterday?"

"One time job."

"Isn't your self-proclaimed aid allowed to come in?"

"You have to earn that right as you rise through the ranks."

"I'm the only one in this rank you know."

"Touché… still, you're not coming back in here."

"Then come out here."

"I'll speak to you later."

"Whatever."

Minoru dismissively waved at the door before heading back to his own room. He didn't wish to wait around her door like a stalker so he decided a nap would be well enough for him. He had all the time in the world on his fine day off.

Minato was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Kotone was pacing the room.

"I'm bored, we should do something."

"Find something to do."

"But Minato, you should take me out to do something. Ever since Minoru had been moved upstairs, I barely see him. Even in school, Mitsuru has him running errands for her all the time."

"His problem, not mine."

"Come on, help me out here. I'm B-O-R-E-D, bored!"

"Not my problem."

Kotone flopped on her bed, exasperated. She needed something to do for just a few hours. Until it was time for bed anyway. Then her answer came just like gold.

"Hey, it's me. Can you come down here?" Yukari yelled from the lounge downstairs.

"Are you coming?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to stay here," Minato said as he stared up at the ceiling.

Kotone shook her head as she exited the room. She made her way down the stairs and to the front door, meeting Yukari and Akihiko at the door.

"What's up?"

"Akihiko said we need to get our strength up and wanted to take us jogging. I didn't want to be alone so I kinda asked for you all to show up…"

Any other day Kotone would've made a full turn-around and opted to do something else instead. Of course, this was no other day.

"Well, I did ask for something to do, so let's go!"

* * *

 **April 20, 2009**

* * *

 **Early Morning**

* * *

Minato and Kotone woke up as they did every morning, getting ready for school all the same. Monday's were the worst. Maybe it was the fact that it was the first school day of the week, maybe it was the fact that it was how Mondays were everywhere, they didn't know. All they knew for sure was that this was a horrible day of the week.

They were alone as they made their way to the school gates, ignoring glares and stares all the same. They slowed as they neared some students, interested in the information coming from their mouths. That or they let their nosey side take over.

"Good morning. I'm always so drowsy on Monday mornings..."

"Yeah, me too. The only thing you can do is to sleep through first period. Wait... tomorrow is when we have morning assembly!"

"Ughhh... I'm too lazy for that. I'll just pretend I didn't hear..."

The bell immediately rang, raising everyone from their conversations and nosiness alike, provoking everyone to enter the school. Classes began soon, and no one wanted to be late.

* * *

 **Lunchtime**

* * *

"I thought I was gonna fall asleep in there..." Yukari yawned out as she stood, stretching out her arms. The three Arisato's weren't feeling it like Yukari though. Well, at least one of them wasn't as Kotone looked around to find the other two boys long off into dreamland. She could give them a bit of credit though. At least they stayed awake longer than Junpei. She looked to Junpei and immediately realized he was a lost cause. Before she could contemplate what to do next she noticed Mitsuru decided to walk in.

"Can I have a minute?" she asked to which everyone nodded, Kotone waking the three sleeping guys of their circle, "Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone."

"Oh, are we having that talk?" Junpei said, earning three curious looks from the three Arisato's.

"I'll save the details for later. See you there."

And just as soon as she came, she disappeared again, straight outside the same door she came from.

"Wow, she didn't waste any time leaving..." Junpei said, sweat-dropping.

"She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us," Yukari plainly stated, simply saying it as it was.

"Whoa, Yuka-tan! Do I sense some hostility?"

"Well, it's not that I don't like her... She's just..."

"She's just completely objective. She follows her goals and doesn't involve herself with much else. She's probably subconsciously following an example set for her in her life. Try not to think about it too much, I sure as hell won't," Minoru said as he put his head back down, Minato following suit. They still had a few more classes to sleep through.

* * *

 **Evening**

* * *

"Okay, everybody's here. I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But, that number recently jumped to seven. Therefore... starting tonight at midnight, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus," Ikutsuki grandly stated to all those in attendance.

"Sorry... I asked this yesterday, but what's this Tartarus thing again?" Junpei asked, voicing the unasked, unvoiced question of all the new members in the room.

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Yukari asked curiously.

"Hm...?"

"It's no surprise... since it only appears during the Dark Hour," Ikutsuki said.

"The Dark Hour...?" Junpei asked again.

"Just like the Shadows... Interesting, huh? And it's the perfect place for us to train. You can think of it as a Shadow nest," Akihiko excitedly said to the group.

"Whoa... Their nest, huh...?" Junpei said, his interest now spiked.

"But, Senpai... what about your injury?" Yukari asked worriedly.

"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the entrance," Mitsuru said, her statement leaving no room for argument.

"...Yeah, I know," Akihiko said dejectedly.

"Well, I'm sure he won't complain, as long as you don't go too far in," Ikutsuki stated, "Since we're dealing with Shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid."

"Relax, I've got your backs," Junpei stated cockily. Minoru, Minato and Kotone looked at him, sizing him up immediately on his effectiveness in battle. They weren't impressed, but they figured it be best to let him have his moment rather than start an argument.

"I'm not so sure about this..." Yukari stated, a touch of fear in her voice.

"What about you, Mr. Chairman?" Mitsuru asked, looking for confirmation from the definite head of the group.

"I'll stay here. As you know, I can't summon a Persona..." he said, easing into his seat.

All three Arisato's thought the same exact thing in light of his statement.

"You can't summon a Persona hm…"

* * *

 **Late Night**

* * *

"This is it? THIS is the place? Why HERE?" Junpei said as they stood in front of their destination.

Gekkoukan High School…

They stood in front of the locked school gates as they looked on in curiosity. Why would their high school be the source of the troubling, pressing issues known as Shadows and the Dark Hour?

"Just wait a few minutes... It's almost midnight," Akihiko said as they stood there waiting.

Akihiko continued to look at his watch, waiting until it read midnight and forced the Dark Hour to arrive. A huge, impossibly-constructed tower arises from the school grounds and stretches up towards the sky, structures never believed to be able to be bent and turned to support such an abominable building stretched far above any other building in the area. All who hadn't seen the structure beforehand looked to Mitsuru and Akihiko for direction.

* * *

 **Dark Hour**

* * *

"This is Tartarus: the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour," Mitsuru calmly stated.

"Labyrinth...? What are you talking about!? What happened to our school!?" Junpei said, being the odd one out who hadn't come to terms that their school was replaced by the monster of a structure in front of them.

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal, so stop worrying about every little detail. We came here to do a job and I'll be damned if it isn't seen through," Mitsuru stated to Junpei, forcibly encouraging him to get his ass in gear already.

"This is the "nest" you were talking about!?" Junpei said, turning to an obviously excited Akihiko, "But, why!? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?"

"..." Both upper-classmen remained silent, at his question.

"You don't know, either?"

"...No," Mitsuru honestly admitted. Akihiko simply nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm sure it's complicated. Who cares anyway? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting," Yukari said, slowly overcoming her fear of encountering Shadows in their main element.

"Well, maybe now we'll find out. Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek so this will be our first time exploring it. Exciting, isn't it? There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour..."

"Akihiko. I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today."

"I know... You don't have to remind me," Akihiko said as he looked at Mitsuru, everyone else silently laughing at his misfortune.

They made their way past the big gate at the school entrance and entered the building through the giant doors. Inside it was spacey, almost endlessly so, as they walked down the lone hall that led to the central room of the entire tower. Stairs led up to an unearthly clock and pillars supported the upper floors, though they couldn't see exactly what it was holding up, no floor in sight above them. There was also a giant door in the back of the room, doors half the size of the arch outside but not lacking in elegance.

"Whoa... It's just as cool on the inside..." Junpei said as he soaked up the sights.

"But, it sure is creepy..." Yukari added as she looked at the surrounding walls that portrayed what seemed to be souls floating quickly in an upper spiral, not to mention a numerous amount of them.

"This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs," Mitsuru said as they headed inside.

"And the doors behind those stairs?" Minoru curiously asked.

"An insurmountable amount of powerful Shadows lie through there. And a powerful source of power at the deepest part of that room. But, as to our reason we're hear…"

"First, we'll have you four get a feel for this place. Why don't you go have a look around?"

"What!? By ourselves!?" Yukari asked, that nagging feeling of fear in the back of her head coming full force.

"We're not asking you to go very far, and I'll be feeding you information from here. Besides, you have Minato, Kotone and even Junpei coming along. You should be fine."

"So, you two didn't plan on coming in the first place? And you said four of us, but what about the fifth person? There are seven of us here after all."

"Like I said before, Minoru is going to be my personal aid. If you need help, he'll be called into action. Until then, he's under my directive."

Everyone looked to Minoru who just shrugged what she said off.

"Hell, which just means that I can easily relax and sit back as you all work yourselves into the ground. I agree with Mitsuru, this is the best choice."

"Lazy ass…" Kotone said, speaking just before Minato and stealing his line. Though he didn't complain.

"Anyway…" Akihiko said, noticing that the excitement that was previously held in the building made its way away from the subject, "We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions."

"For real? One of us? Oh! Oh! Me! Me! Me! Pick me!" Junpei said, not noticing he was showing just exactly how much of a leaders' qualities he didn't have.

Akihiko turned to Minato and Kotone, ignoring Junpei for the moment, and asked, "Which one of you wants to be in charge?"

"W-Wait! Why one of them!? Neither of them looks like a leader!"

"But, they HAVE fought them before, multiple times in fact…" Yukari said, siding with Akihiko.

"I know that, but still…"

"That's true, but there's another reason. You two..." Akihiko said to Junpei and Yukari. When he had their attention he pulled out his Evoker and put it to his temple, "Can you summon your Persona without any difficulties, like they can?"

"Y-Yeah, of course I can!" Junpei said, though his face showed he doubted his abilities.

"I think so," Yukari said honestly.

"These are Shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed," Akihiko stated.

"I'm aware of that," Yukari said.

"Akihiko," Minato said, his hands in his pockets and a look of absolute boredom on his face, "Let Junpei be the leader tonight. If he proves he has what it takes, you can keep him as leader. If he fails, Kotone and I will decide the leader between us."

"What are you thinking, Arisato?! It's too dangerous to let an unexperienced Persona user be the leader," Mitsuru said.

"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?" Minato said. He felt Mitsuru glare at him for a moment but shrugged it off. Mitsuru was about to speak again, that is until she was cut off.

"Mitsuru, maybe we should see how this turns out…" Minoru said to her, gaining a harsh look.

"Alright, fine. But if anything goes awry, you'll be the one expected to run in and take the role of damage control," Mitsuru stated, her word the final say. Though he couldn't dispute anything with Mitsuru about this, he could say some parting words to Junpei, who he just so happened to turn to.

"Junpei, if you mess up it'll be your ass directly after the shadows…" Minoru said, a minor sense of killing intent radiating off of him. Though Junpei was speechless, terrified even, the other three of the search party weren't, which was why when Yukari grabbed Junpei's hand and started dragging him away, no one found it odd at all.

"Come on, let's go. If we stay here any longer, we'll never be able to explore this tower," Yukari said, provoking Minato and Kotone to follow her and the still dragged along Junpei up the tall staircase.

"So, this is it, huh...?" Junpei said to no one in particular as he looked around the new area. The walls seemed to be bleeding just as the uniquely tiled floor was as the eerie walls seemed to will themselves to press against the occupants. Minato and Kotone felt fine, though Yukari and Junpei held another set of a story.

"I just hope I don't get lost..." Yukari said as they all took a few steps forward.

"Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru said, causing everyone to look around until they realized that she was on a transceiver.

"Whoa! Is that you, Senpai?" Junpei said, surprised at the sheer fact that he felt that her voice was radiating through their minds. They all were a little surprised in fact.

"I'll be providing audio backup from here on out."

"Wait... Ya mean, you can see inside here?" Junpei asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"It's my Persona's ability. I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative. I can monitor your progress and what you're up against from here."

"Well, THAT makes me feel a whole lot better..." Yukari said, sarcastically of course.

"Now, based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect after all. And Junpei, show you have what it takes to lead this scouting force."

"Right!" Junpei said as he swung his sword a few times in practice.

"Got it," Yukari said, though her thoughts were displaying different emotions. _"Why is she always like that...?"_

"Let's begin. Keep in mind, these are real battles you'll be engaging in. Now, see if you can eliminate all the Shadows wandering around on this floor."

Junpei lead the team through the floor slowly, looking around corners carefully before he moved forward and through the halls that made up Thebel. They spotted two shadows and moved forward, Mitsuru cutting into their thoughts as they moved forward.

"Watch out! I detect a two Shadows in front of you! Move in and hit it before it attacks you! They're Cowardly Maya, so Agi and Garu is their weakness."

Junpei nodded to what she said and quickly ran behind the two shadows. Using his Evoker he called out Hermes, agi doing its job and stunning the shadow. Yukari used her Evoker and called out Lo, garu knocking the other shadow out.

"Minato! Kotone!" Junpei called out to the last two.

"Way ahead of you!" They yelled, Kotone using her spear and Minato using his short sword to cut through the shadows, watching them disintegrate, signaling they were defeated. They continued to walk down the hall, seeing a staircase oddly placed and leading up to the corner of the area it was in. They all looked on in wonder before Mitsuru's voice cut in.

"A staircase is the only way to proceed to the next floor. I can't allow you to go any higher today, but please remember about it next time."

"Why can't we go any higher today?" Junpei asked.

"It's too dangerous. Your primary goal today was to scout out the tower. Any more would be too risky."

"If you say so, Senpai," Junpei answered, though he was already formulating a way to impress and retain his position as leader. Why prove yourself over and over when you could do it all in one go?

They continued on until they came into contact with another group of shadows.

"Three more Cowardly Maya ahead!" Mitsuru said.

"Persona!" Everyone yelled, Minato excluded. Agi and Garu spells were casted, placing a direct hit on each of the shadows before their Persona's receded back into their minds. As the Shadows laid dazed on the ground, Minato moved in with the group.

"All right, you know what to do. Everybody, all together now!"

They all rushed in on the Shadows at the sound of Minato's voice, hits echoing throughout the area. When the dust settled down both sides stood unmoving, before the Shadows disintegrated into thin air. They stood successful, Minato and Kotone in much better shape than Junpei and Yukari, signs of strain already shown on their bodies.

"Junpei?" Minato asked coolly to the already stressed Junpei.

"Yeah?"

"What's the plan leader?"

"Oh, right, let's keep going…"

The group continued moving further into the floor they were on. Minato watched Junpei carefully. Sure, Junpei wanted to be a leader, and I was somewhat careless to put the strain on him the first day, but this was a lesson he needed to learn, and fast. They've been walking for a while now, Shadows nowhere to be seen. They stopped in the middle of the hallway, none of them liking that they had only fought two fights and that was all this floor had to offer. Surely there was more.

"...That's odd. Usually, there are more Shadows on the prowl. ...Well, at least you gained some experience in battle. Let's go back to the dorm for today. There should be an Access Point somewhere on that floor. You can use it to return to the entrance. Since there aren't any enemies to worry about, why don't you split up and search individually?"

They all split up, well, kind of split up. Minato and Kotone went in one direction while Yukari and Junpei went in their own directions. Junpei went back in the direction they started in until he came face to face with the stairs again. He stood there for a moment, debating whether or not it was a good idea to head up the stairs, not exactly trying to get any of them killed on the first day. Then he remembered that Kotone and Minato seemed fine earlier, and since they were the most powerful of them all, they could surely keep them alive for one more floor. It only seemed right…

Junpei took all of two steps before a voice halted him.

"Junpei, don't even think about it," Minato said as he and Kotone stood down the hall, looking at Junpei as he had tried to go up to the next floor. He received no answer from Junpei, but instead received a stare-off instead. They stood there for a few moments, watching each other to see who would move first, before Junpei took off up the stairs before disappearing from sight. It was at this point that Yukari decided to join them.

"Hey, where's Junpei? I found the access point Mitsuru-senpai was talking about and wanted to get him so we could all go."

"Your idiot of a friend went up to the next floor," Minato calmly said, though anyone could hear the underlying irritation in his voice.

"Shouldn't we follow him? If we just let him continue alone he could…" Yukari couldn't finish her statement, though she didn't need to for what she was implying. They all knew the worst case scenario.

"He wants to be the tough guy, he wants to be brave, let him. It'll be a valuable lesson to him," Minato said as he turned to walk towards the access point, planning to get out of that tower as soon as possible.

"We came in a team and we leave a team Minato," Kotone said as she and Yukari turned to the stairs, "And it'd be bad for everyone if one of us died today."

Minato, forced to now continue up to a second floor, led the two girls to the stairs before static was heard in their heads.

"I need a status report. My scanner says that one of you continued up to the second floor, even after I specifically told you not to. Explain," Mitsuru's cold voice came over on the transceiver.

"Iori decided that we needed a second floor, and to keep us from changing our minds he went up alone. We're heading up now."

"Minato, should I-"

"No, that won't be necessary. Kotone and I should be more than enough to handle whatever is on the second floor."

"Alright. I sense an access point on the third floor as well. When you retrieve Iori, get to that access point and get back here. We can all talk then. Get it done."

Mitsuru's voice went off and they all went up the stairs to find their stupidly courageous teammate.

* * *

Mitsuru sighed loudly as she rubbed her temples. A simple floor exploration for one day seemed to turn into such a grave headache that the situation was still unbelievable for her. Akihiko and Minoru stood beside her, watching as she seemed to do something that neither of them knew her to do: panic. Mitsuru turned up to look at Minoru.

"Do you think I should send you up anyway?"

Minoru tilted his head and placed his hand on his chin, seemingly in deep though, before he shook his head at her.

"I know their abilities, what they can and cannot do. The first floor wasn't that difficult. The second shouldn't be different. They should be more than enough. Especially with how well they seem to work together. It seems so natural it almost beyond belief. So worry your head not princess. They'll be fine."

Mitsuru seemed to relax a bit. If those two worked together so well then she had nothing to worry about. She turned back to her transceiver before a frown crossed her face, making her turn back to Minoru, who looked confused at her change of face.

"What?"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me princess…" She said, the threat of what could happen to him hanging in the air. Minoru laughed nervously, his left hand rubbing the back of his head as he turned away from her, avoiding eye contact by all means. Mitsuru was about to mentally assault him further before the transceiver beeped, turning her attention back to it.

"Yes? Did you locate Iori?"

"We found him," Minato said, his voice sounding tense, "But I think we'll all get our fair share of scrapes and bruises today…"

* * *

Minato tuned out the transceiver as he looked at the sight before him. Junpei was standing before them, cornered by three flying shadows, casting Agi on them repeatedly, but to no avail. When he collapsed her told Yukari to use Garu on them, which she obliged to, causing each of the shadows to flinch before coming over to the newcomers.

"Those shadows are called Venus Eagles," Mitsuru said as she analyzed the rapidly approaching opposition, "Agi is useless against them, so Minato and Kotone, you're going to have to rely on your weapons. The only weakness I see is that their weak to piercing attacks."

" _Piercing attacks, eh?"_ Minato thought as he looked at Yukari. She noticed his eyes were on her and fidgeted nervously, not liking that she was the focus of the situation when she wasn't supposed to be.

"Yukari, how well can you use that bow?" he asked.

"If they're moving too much, I can't hit them. I'm not some superhero you know," she replied, causing Minato and Kotone to roll their eyes at her.

"All right. This fight relies on you, so you do your job and we'll do ours."

"What do you mean by-"

She never got the rest out as Minato and Kotone charged forwards, weapons in hand. The Venus Eagles saw the two threats and immediately cast Garu on them. Kotone jumped to the side of the blast, avoiding the hit, Minato opting to charge through instead. As they got past the windy threat, or in one case through it, they closed in on the sides of one of the eagles and pinned its escape.

"Yukari! Now!" They yelled as they ran in. Yukari fired her arrow and as the Eagle attempted to fly forward to escape the hit landed dead on, causing the flying foe to crash into the ground. Minato and Kotone jumped up and thrusted their weapons down, ending the short existence of one of their enemies. Repeating the process on the other two eagles worked well, save the occasional Garu skill or slash attack that cut deep into their clothes. When it was just them and an unconscious Junpei in the hall they easily relaxed.

"Yukari, these are for you," Minato said as he handed her three masks.

"Um, thanks…" Yukari said, unsure to why she should keep them.

"You're welcome. Selling those should get you enough money to buy yourself something nice. Now, as for the unconscious imbecile here…"

Minato carried Junpei over his shoulder as they found the warp point and headed back to the main floor, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Minoru awaiting them.

"Welcome back. So, how was it? Aside from the complications I mean…" Mitsuru asked as they approached.

"It was no problem," Minato said as he shrugged his unoccupied shoulder, Kotone in silent agreement.

"I see," was Mitsuru's simple reply.

"Well they handled themselves nicely. Needless to say, Junpei is out of the leadership circle for the time being," Minoru said.

"Ah, yes. I see he's unconscious but this is what happens when you don't heed the advice of others," Mitsuru said.

"That's a bit cold…" Akihiko added, quickly turning from her when she glared at him. Instead he turned to the two Arisato's that somewhat became heroes for the day.

"So, why'd you suggest Junpei to be the leader?" He asked Minato.

"I foresaw jealously down the line, and there may still be some, but at least this helped to quell the arguments early."

"Alright. Now which one of you is going to be the actual leader now that we've got the trials out of the way?"

Minato and Kotone looked at each other before pointing at each other, neither faltering in their decision. Akihiko face-palmed for the first time that day. It was too late to deal with this.

"All in favor of a co-operative leadership say 'I,'" Akihiko said, gaining supportive "I's" from every other SEES member present.

"Alright, decision met. Now let's get back to the dorms before the dark hour ends. Surely none of you wish to be seen in the tatters that you're in now…"

Kotone and Minato sighed as they looked at themselves, Minato handing Junpei's unconscious form to Akihiko. Yukari was nearly in tears. She looked at her pink cardigan, realizing it was torn up by the previously violent winds, leaving some of her underwear present to the searching eye. She crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to cover up, but to no avail. She was in lost hopes until she felt a tattered jacket rest on her shoulders. She looked up to find a stoic Minato who simply nodded to her before stepping away from her, allowing her to close up the jacket and cover herself.

" _Well, guess that means he doesn't hate EVERYTHING,"_ Yukari thought to herself as she watched Minato from behind, his head tilted down, undoubtedly listening to his music, and his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street with everyone in nothing but a torn white undershirt, completely unfazed.

* * *

 **A/N: Page break lines are fun to add! Well, let me know how this turned out. Until next time...**


	4. Chapter 4

_April 21, 2009_

* * *

 _Early Morning_

* * *

Now it was a rarity that anything out of the norm happened. Minoru still left every morning with Mitsuru, whether it was early for a meeting or later because Minoru wanted to sleep in. Akihiko and Junpei still left whenever they wanted. Minato, Yukari and Kotone still left together, Minato suffering the accusations that Kotone was making of Minoru and Mitsuru seeming closer, all while Yukari silently walked with them. Even the train ride to the station a little ways from the school was the same. Why was today so different then? Well, that could be answered simply by looking at the current situation of one Minato Arisato. He arrived to the front gate of the school with the girls, only to be left behind by them when another student impeded his progress by stopping in front of him.

" _Just my luck…"_ Minato thought to himself as he looked at the grin on the students' face before him.

"Hey, you're Minato, right?"

"Who are you?"

"Man, I knew it. I heard from Junpei that you're pretty close with Yukari-san. ...What's up with that? Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm looking for someone with a little more experience anyway. By the way... I'm Kenji Tomochika. There's a morning assembly, so we better hurry."

" _Did he just ignore me?"_ was Minato's sole thought as his eye twitched slightly. He let the matter go though, believing that was just the normal behavior for idiots. And what did he mean by he was looking for someone with more experience anyway?

With no other alternative he followed this kid, Kenji, into the school and into the auditorium. As usual, he sat a seat away from Kotone, Minoru in the middle of them, while students sat on either side of the trio. Of course, he was just as bored with the assembly as Minoru was. That is, until Minoru began to show more interest in it and he didn't realize why until he saw who was on stage. It wasn't the student at the podium that had his attention, but the redhead Student Council President standing off to the side.

"...That concludes the main portion of today's assembly. Next, we'll hear a word from the Student Council. Please welcome the new President, Mitsuru Kirijo, from Class 3-D," the female student stated as she moved back, Mitsuru gracefully making her appearance at the podium, much how she strived to do everything in life it seemed.

"Thank you."

In the seats, surprises were on the faces of the three Arisato's, Yukari and Junpei. Yukari was the first one to break out of their stupor.

"So, she did get elected. Well... I guess she IS the most popular girl in school," Yukari stated.

"You can say that again! There's like some kinda aura around her... Besides, this school's owned by the Kirijo Group, right? Who better to be the Student Council President than a descendant from their group?" Junpei said.

"Yeah, I try not to think about that," Yukari said, shrinking in her seat a little bit.

"It was just a joke…" the Arisato's all mumbled to themselves quietly, still surprised that their running joke and thought of the Kirijo turned out to become reality.

"As I begin my term as Student Council President," Mitsuru said, her eyes looking throughout the crowd before resting on one sole individual, "I'd like to share with you my vision for this coming year. It is my firm belief that each of us must accept the responsibility of bettering our school."

Minato looked on as Minoru seemed to be caught in a trance, finally realizing that he and Mitsuru's eyes were locked on each other. He just hoped he wouldn't hear about it from Kotone anytime soon. He wouldn't be sure if he would or not, seeing as he couldn't see past Minoru and he was too relaxed to make the effort to look at her anyway.

"However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment. That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal. I'd like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and re-evaluate your convictions... To imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you. That is the key. I am certain that many of you have your own visions of the future... For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you."

Mitsuru stepped down from the podium and moved back to the side, the audience clapping the whole while. Minato watched in mild humor as Minoru's eyes wouldn't release their hold of Mitsuru's form. He'd tease him about it but…

"Dang... That was freaking amazing... So... Do you have any idea what she just said?" Junpei asked, making it known that he was clapping simply because she used big, intricate words to make her point.

"Sort of," Kotone said as she rubbed the back of her head, thinking about what she just heard.

"Sure didn't sound like somethin' a high-schooler would say... If it was anyone else, we'd be laughin' our asses off. What about you Yuka-tan?"

"Don't call me that…" she replied with an aggravated tone, "And besides, I have no clue what she was saying…" she finished as she seemed to sink even further into her seat.

"Me neither... We live in the same dorm, but it's like we're on different planets... Man, if she asks for my opinion, I don't know what I'll say..."

"Then don't say anything, Junpei," Minato said.

"Oh yeah? Well did you understand what she said," Junpei asked the kid who had refused to look at him up to this point.

"I wasn't listening," he simply replied, everyone staring at him wide eyed, except Minoru whose thoughts and mind were elsewhere.

"Dude... You're such a rebel..." Junpei said as he mentally applauded his hard-to-get-along-with-friend. He then jabbed his elbow in Minoru's side, earning his attention.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Did you understand what she said just now?"

Minoru let a small, uncharacteristic smile cross his face as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Every word…"

* * *

 _Afternoon_

* * *

"All right, today we'll be going over Meiji-era literature. Open your textbooks to page 12. Oh... Hmm, I don't really like this author. Okay, never mind. I've got a great poem we can cover instead. Close your textbooks, everyone, and listen... 'Beyond the seas, high above in the skies...'" Ms. Toriumi spoke to her class as she began teaching them about a poem.

Minato and Minoru both already had their heads down. They turned their heads to one another, nodding after reading the other's face. They didn't need a prompt to tell them what they were going to do as they easily slipped into the ethereal embrace that was sleep, knowing all the while that Kotone was shaking her head disapprovingly at their antics.

"All right, Kenji, you'd better not be sleeping back there! You should be ashamed of yourself, taking a nap while I pour my heart into reading this poem! For that, you get another essay along with your regular assignment tonight! I'll expect a slice of cake when you turn it in, too!"

Kotone could still never understand how those two could doze off right under the teachers' nose and never get caught. She smiled softly, those two were idiots.

* * *

 _After School_

* * *

Kotone lead Minato and Minoru out of the school building, both still heavily groggy from their late afternoon nap, following along like zombies. She saw Akihiko exit basically right behind them, though some hidden fan girls immediately cut him off.

"Look, it's Akihiko-senpai!"

"Where!? ...Oh, there he is!"

She watched in mild amusement as he didn't even reply to any of them. She didn't even think that he was even fully aware they were there. It was at this point that Junpei walked up next to her and her two followers.

"Have you noticed how popular Akihiko-san is with the ladies? Man, take a look at that...I didn't use to talk to him much, but now I've got a good excuse. I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but... Who woulda thought he'd be such a chick magnet!? I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going..."

Kotone shook her head at this bit of information. Sure, it was true, but that didn't help make it sound any less ridiculous. She almost laughed when she saw him try to walk away, still being followed by some overenthusiastic girls.

"Senpai!"

"Wait for us!"

Kotone, watching how hopeless of a situation it was that he was unable to escape, walked over to him, the three guys behind her watching in interest.

"Senpai, some people wish to speak with you really quick."

Akihiko turned to the familiar sounding voice of Kotone and smiled, though it was barely noticeable.

"Alright," he replied.

"Great," she said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the pit that was fan girls.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going with THE Akihiko-senpai?" one of the girls asked to which Kotone simply responded with an, "Over there."

They wanted to follow her before they saw who she was talking about. She was freely walking towards two other cute guys, who were like twins but not quite. Minato, the silent one but equally aggressive, and Minoru, the intimidating but kind one if what they heard about Fuuka was true. Kotone noticeably flinched alongside her other friends when she heard the next outburst.

"Minato-kun!"

"Minoru-kun!"

As if a universal signal was set off they all began running away from the school. Well, all but one. Junpei stood with his arms wide, awaiting the love that was about to be sent his way, before he was mercilessly trampled by the girls as they chased them all away from the school.

Twenty minutes later they returned to the school, all gasping for breath.

"Wow… To think that your previous path of self-destruction would be so beneficial…" Kotone said as she looked up to Minoru as he shrugged.

"Hell, I lost shadows that was, why not fan girls?" he said, as if making that comparison was routine. They approached the stairs, finding a depressed and tattered Junpei sitting there, mumbling about how "life wasn't fair" or something along those lines. When their breath was caught, Akihiko began speaking.

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?"

"Hell yeah! Whatcha got in mind!?" Junpei said, his mood making a full 180 recovery.

"I want the two of you to go with me to Paulownia Mall. We're going to visit the police station."

"Th-The police station? You mean, we're not hangin' out with your friends...?" Junpei said, his mood rapidly dropping. Kotone knew what he was saying and she didn't miss those girls in the slightest. Yukari and Mitsuru were enough to handle at the moment.

"Who, those girls? I don't even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache. Anyway, let's get going."

Together they all walked to the mall, not much conversation needed on the way. They were still feeling a little worn from running through the backstreets of the town to lose some unneeded fan girls, while was just upset that there were no other girls involved in the trip. Immediately when they walked in after Akihiko, the officer at the counter handed him a pair of dangerous looking gloves.

"Thank you, Sir. Oh, these are the guys I was talking about earlier," Akihiko said to the officer, the others noticing that the officer knew they'd be by days in advance. The officers response was to say nothing though.

"This is Officer Kurosawa. He helps keep our squad well-equipped. And, this is from Ikutsuki-san..." Akihiko said as he handed them each 5,000 yen.

"R-Really!? Sweet!" Junpei said while the others just looked at their hands. They didn't really need the money. They had a few billion saved up over the years. But no one needed to know that…

"You can't fight something empty-handed, so find something you like. Officer Kurosawa has connections... But, these things still cost money."

"Of course they do. Nothing in life is free," Kurosawa said, speaking for the first time. The only surprise on anyone's face was with his deep voice.

"I realize that. Well, I'll see you later. Thanks again," Akihiko said as he quickly, though casually, left the group behind.

"I've been informed about you four. My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances. I'm just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn't take a genius to know something strange is going on here. I'm only doing what I think is right," the kindly officer told them. He was definitely one to hold his ideals above regulation, at least in this case, and it was not for naught.

"What are you guys going to buy?" Junpei asked as he turned to his three companions. They exchanged looks before they each held out their money to him.

"We feel we're fine as is for the moment. No offense to you Officer," Kotone said to which he just nodded, "So we figured why not give it to you?"

"Are you sure?" Junpei asked, and when they all nodded he hesitantly took their offer. 20,000 yen. Now that was a hefty gift all on its own.

"Thanks," Junpei said as he turned to converse with the Officer on what he had available. They all took this as their sign to leave the store while he was busy. Knowing him, he'd be there for quite a moment before they would be able to leave. A few looks around the mall and they immediately went back to the dorm.

* * *

 _Evening_

* * *

"Welcome back," Mitsuru said to them as she looked up from the book she was reading on the couch. The three of them looked at her, waiting for her to continue, which surely didn't take long. "Perfect timing... I'd like to speak to you for a moment. Regarding our exploration of Tartarus... Akihiko is still on the mend, so for now, I'd like you, Kotone and Minato, to lead the team, with Minoru as situational backup. You never know when a powerful enemy might appear, like the one you faced the other day. It's best to be prepared, or else you may find yourself in a difficult situation. So, whenever you'd like to explore Tartarus, just let me know, and I'll gather everyone there. Also, since I'm sure there are other things you will need to take care of, you may go out at night if you need to. Well, that's it. Keep up the good work."

"Mitsuru?"

"Yes?"

"We want to go to Tartarus tonight."

"Okay, I suppose that it would be alright. We'll reconvene later tonight. See you then."

* * *

 _Dark Hour_

* * *

"As we explore Tartarus, this will be our temporary base of operations. I'm counting on you," Mitsuru said as she stood at the base of the towers' interior with the other current SEES members present.

"Three floors so far. Any idea how tall this tower is?" Minato asked Mitsuru.

"Sorry, but no. Hopefully we can figure that out in time. However, I have found out something about Tartarus. A few floors up, there's a barricade preventing you from going any higher. The tower seems to have a number of these interspersed amongst its floors. I know I told you that the layout changes each day, but these barriers seem to be in fixed locations. Therefore, I'd like you to try and reach the first barricade. I'm counting on you."

Minato nodded, then indicated that he needed to talk to Minoru for a moment, waving Kotone along behind them. They walked to the corner of the room and stepped through the uniquely placed door. As soon as they entered they were met with darkness before the familiar sound of an elevator and the velvet color that the room was named for came into sight.

"Welcome to the Velvet room. Ah, it would seem the Arisato's and their friend have returned."

"We're all Arisato's Igor," Kotone immediately said.

"If you say so…" Igor simply replied as he clutched his two hands over his nose, obscuring some of it from the three visitors, "Perhaps you are here to re-familiarize yourself with your multitude of Persona? Or would you rather like to have a word with one of the other three that reside here?"

As if on cue, Elizabeth entered the room, followed by Theodore, and then Margaret. All three Persona masters stood as still as stone, eyeing their respective counterpart as they entered the room. For a long moment, all one could hear was the sound of the elevator they were all standing in raise ever higher. The three elevator attendants suddenly stopped and turned, Elizabeth in front of Minato, Theodore in front of Kotone, and Margaret in front of Minoru.

"How may we help you?" They all asked at once.

All of a few moments passed before the three Arisato's returned to the group at the stairs, ready to tackle the tower at hand. Everyone even noticed that something seemed different about them, like the way they carried themselves. Minato and Kotone led Yukari and Junpei through the tower that night with no sort of difficulty, and were easily able to collectively tackle the obstacle of three dancing hands, incorporating everyone into the group effort.

As Minato stood patiently by Mitsuru, waiting for his two friends to return, only one thought passed through his mind.

"How long can I keep this up, and when will my decisions become counteractive to them…"

* * *

 _April 22, 2009_

* * *

 _Early Morning_

* * *

Minato was aggravated as he approached the school. Of course Yukari had something to do that morning for her archery club. He probably wouldn't have been upset if she didn't claim his second alarm clock, Kotone, and just left a note beside him instead of an alarm. Hell, he'd have even woken up to go with them, as much as he didn't like waking up early. He'd have just slept through class as usual anyway.

" _Isn't it an unspoken rule?"_ he thought as he neared the school gates, listening to the music in his headphones the whole way, _"I was pretty sure that we were all supposed to walk to school in our normal groups and all, and yet here they are breaking away from the norm. Damn girls…"_

Minato was so caught up in his own thoughts that he almost hadn't noticed he was about to bump into anyone. When he stopped and noticed they weren't going to move from their spot he immediately looked up, internally cringing when he saw the ear-splitting grin on the face of the student before him.

"What's up, Minato? Huh...? You're all by yourself? Dude, I thought the rumor about you and Yukari-san was true..."

Minato looked up at Kenji with an unamused expression, though he was clutching his fist at the mention of Yukari, the girl that put him in this situation in the first place. Perhaps it was hopeful thinking, but he figured that if the girls would have walked with him today he would've had a fifty-fifty chance of avoiding the guy in front of him. Of course, now he'd never know…

"Well, it's not like I care or anything. But, you've sure had some bad luck since you transferred here. ...You know, dude, all the weird stuff that's been happening... How everyone's been saying they're hearing strange voices... Well, I guess since you're always listening to your headphones or hanging around Kotone and Yukari, you probably haven't heard anything."

Ignoring Kenji for the most part, Minato walked past him and headed into the school building. Little did he know that certain plans were already being made regarding him.

* * *

 _After School_

* * *

Another long day of school proved fruitful for the enhanced sleeping quality of Minato and Minoru, both raising their heads from their desks after being shaken up by Kotone. They knew better than to get on her bad side. Then again, that seemed to hold true for all the girls in their dorm…

Minato looked up as he raised his head and almost fell out of his chair when he realized that someone was standing way to close to his desk.

"What the hell?! Don't you know better than to sneak up on people when they're sleeping?!" He yelled at one Kenji as he attempted to put room between him and the other student, though all he could do was back away with the desk in tow.

"Hey, man, I'm gonna get some ramen after school. You wanna come?" Kenji asked with a big smile, ignoring Minato's earlier outburst.

" _What's with this guy?"_ Minato thought as he looked at a student who seemed to be dancing on a thin line of obliviousness and reality.

"Why are you asking me? Don't you have someone else you can take?"

"No reason, really. I just don't have anything to do later... and I thought we could finish our conversation from this morning. So whaddya say, man? Let's get some ramen and talk."

Minato was about to decline. He didn't have time for this. He had a comfortable bed waiting for him back at the dorm. This was unacceptable. This detour would not be allowed!

"He'd be happy to join you."

A loud thunking sound reverberated throughout the classroom, turning the heads of everyone still present. Minato couldn't believe it. With just a few words his plans had been shattered like tempered glass and were now blowing away like feathers. What did he do to deserve such punishment?

"Hey, what's up guys?"

Minato's head basically jumped off his shoulders as he looked up to see his last way out, his last attempt at salvation. He just needed Yukari to invite him somewhere. Yes! It was foolproof!

"So, are you ready to go?"

"YES!" Minato said, a little overenthusiastically. He didn't think it would be that easy.

"Not you, idiot!" Kotone yelled as she clobbered him on his head.

Momentarily rubbing his head to ease the pain, he looked back up to see Kotone dragging away Minoru and Yukari following behind them, smiling all the while. He couldn't believe it! First this morning, now this afternoon?! They shoved him to the side again!

Minato's body went limp in disbelief, no longer struggling to get away from Kenji. Kenji, not missing the moment, grabbed his jacket and pulled. All eyes were on one Minato Arisato as he was dragged through and out of the school, his facial expression showing he was dead to the world. Kenji was not deterred and remained diligent until, after about a half hour of dragging and subway assistance dropped them off at their destination: the Iwatodai strip mall, in the ramen shop "Hagakure"

A few minutes later and they were both seated in the ramen shop, a hot bowl of noodles placed in front of them. Kenji sure made out to eat like it was his last meal on the planet, if the slurping sounds were any indication…

"Whew! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! ...Well, was I right, or was I right? This ramen tastes great, doesn't it? I bet they put a special ingredient in it, something no other ramen shop uses. It's probably some sort of secret spice... Oh, sorry. My bad. I get all geeked up when I eat here."

Minato looked at Kenji for a few seconds. Sure, the ramen was good. It was perfect for that pre-nap meal. But to talk so much about it instead of eating it?

"Just shut up and eat. I didn't come here to be drowned in your self-professed knowledge of noodles…"

"Yeah, man, you're right. If we talk too much, the noodles will get soggy. It's just that by the way you're savoring your soup, it seems like you really appreciate its flavor."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Maybe you don't like it as much as you think if you have to keep talking about it more than eat it."

A few minutes of silence passed, save for the sound of slurped noodles. Minato thought he shut him up this time. But at the end of the day, that's all it was, a thought…

"By the way, man, I hear you and Yukari are close, if what I saw before we left is any indication. You totally wanted her to take you with her," Kenji said, undoubtedly prodding.

"That's none of your damn business," Minato said as he turned his head to the counter.

"Damn, boy, you move fast! I mean, you just transferred here. I can't blame you, though. A man's gotta be aggressive nowadays. Hey, let's hang out after school again sometime. We'll get some food and I'll tell you about my secret plan... Wait 'til you hear it, dude. You're gonna flip!"

" _I don't care about secret plans or girl crushes right now. I just want my forty winks!"_ an aggravated Minoru thought to himself. A sound of shattered glass broke, though when he looked around, he saw nothing of the sort. Then, in his mindscape, he saw a card.

" _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..."_

"The Magician Arcana, huh? I wonder how high I'll get this time? But is gaining power like this really better than sleep?"

Minato pondered on his thoughts while he and Kenji finally ate in silence.

"What, it's already nighttime? ...Damn, I missed my favorite TV show! Man, you're one serious dude... Oh well, let's get going," Kenji said, seemingly out of nowhere, before they left the restaurant, parting ways at the door.

* * *

 _Evening_

* * *

"Welcome back," Mitsuru said when Minato finally entered the dorm. "Arisato, have you been monitoring your condition? Exploring Tartarus can be exhausting, especially since you must do so late at night. You may find that you need a great deal of rest to recuperate. The others' conditions will vary as well, so make sure you take that into consideration before you begin exploring."

"Understood, Boss. I was going to go against going today anyway. Unless that's a problem?"

"No, it is not. Go get some rest. We'll go again when you and Kotone agree on going."

Minato nodded and headed up the stairs, tripping over something on the ground.

"The hell?"

He looked down to see a collapsed Minoru holding… shopping bags?

"Uh…" Minato began to say something, but he was stunned by this unique situation. Shadows couldn't tire this guy out, but something as rudimentary as shopping could?

"Minato?"

"Uh, yes?"

A few seconds passed by and Minato wondered if he should check for a pulse.

"Next time, you and I are switching places."

Minato just looked on shocked. It couldn't be that bad, right? Shopping with both Yukari and Kotone? Or perhaps Mitsuru made a last second appearance? He watched on as Minoru slowly picked himself up and began limping up the stairs.

" _He has to be over exaggerating now…"_ Minato thought to himself before turning to his own room and heading off to sleep. He's waited all day for this after all…

* * *

 _April 23, 2009_

* * *

 _Early Morning_

* * *

Minato walked ahead of the girls today on the way to school, headphones in ears and all. He wanted to believe that he wasn't still upset about yesterday. He didn't usually hold grudges. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Before, he didn't have much of anything to hold grudges about. Now, however…

When he reached the school he stopped by the usual gossip queens, close enough to hear but far enough to claim obliviousness, and did what any sensible person would do: eavesdrop.

"Is it just me, or have there been more weird people around lately?"

"You're talking about the Apathy Syndrome, right? My neighbor has that... He grosses me out. Sometimes I think I might have it too, and it depresses me."

"Maybe you just need some exercise. Hey, the athletic teams are accepting new members. Maybe I should join!"

The bell brought them out of the conversation and both parties resumed inside.

" _Sports teams, eh?"_ Minato thought as he headed inside. Finally, he had a reason to ignore people! Though, if he joined a team, he'd lose sleep.

"Ugh, why does life have to be so hard?"

* * *

 _Evening_

* * *

"...S'up, dude? Hey, I hear you're friends with Kenji now... He said you're a pretty cool guy..."

"That's nice," Minato said as he moved to get past Junpei. He forgot to pick a sport after school, okay he slept longer than anticipated but same difference, and had to choose tomorrow.

"I… don't have anything to respond to that with. But, let's go to Tartarus tonight... I hear the Lost are increasing, so we better kick some Shadow ass."

"I don't go on your word, Junpei. However, I guess we need a little more training so just this once," Minato patted Junpei on the back and gave him an uncharacteristic smile, "I'm going to say 'Good Thinking, Junpei.'"

* * *

 **A/N: End of chapter 4? Part 4? Eh, I'll figure it out eventually. As for interactions with other students in this fic? I'll figure something out. Remember to read and review. I don't want to waste your time and... hm, actually, I'm not sure if you want to waste my time or not. Till next time! Coming up: Another Day At Tartarus**


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